Tara (Getting Rhett Back II)
by Redhot Rebel
Summary: The Westley family and the Westley plantation re-awaken Scarlett's dreams of restoring Tara to its former glory of flourishing cotton fields and a hundred field-hands. Scarlett is torn between her love for Rhett and her bull-headed sharecropping plans for Tara. Rhett and Scarlett once again become Atlanta's most hated citizens in this tale of broken promises, larceny and murder!
1. Chapter 1

**Dear readers, this story is a continuation of "Getting Rhett back". And I thought this story could be one last temptation for Scarlett ... :) but she loves Rhett in this story so that makes a difference.**

**CHAPTER1**

* * *

Aunt Pittypat's house on Peachtree street was bathed in warm sunlight that bright August morning. The blinds in the front hall were pulled back and Wade leaned over on the window seat, his hands cupping his chin and stared moodily out the window, idly observing the passing carriages and people. It had been an hour since Uncle Peter had left to receive his mother and they still weren't back. When Scarlett had deposited him and his little sister at Aunt Pitty's, he hadn't realized that his mother would be away for a whole month! Aunt Pitty was all right. She listened to his lessons and gave him books to read but she was always fussing over manners! She detested boisterous games and according to her, merely bounding up and down the stairs was considered boisterous. She objected when he whooped like a red-Indian, she objected when he set traps around the house for rabbits and mice, she objected when he tried to build a ship in his room. She objected to almost everything an eight-year old boy was supposed to do. And Aunt Pitty was always chiding about his "being a good elder brother" to Ella. Wade had a sneaking suspicion that Aunt Pitty favored Ella because she was the "little sister" just like she was to Uncle Henry.

"Come away from the window, dear" called out Aunt Pitty, stirring her cup of tea endlessly. "You're making your poor Auntie nervous. Why don't you play with your new soldiers set like little Ella-"

Wade instantly whirled around and found Ella meddling with his brand new wooden toy soldiers set. "Ella, I told you not to touch those!" he cried, impulsively.

"But I want to play!" pouted Ella and gazed appealingly at Aunt Pitty. Wade observed on Aunt Pitty's face, the emerging signs of a lecture on the happiness of sharing and hastily rushed to Ella's side.

"Well, see that you don't break anything" he hissed into Ella's ear. "I'll be cross if you do."

"Why is this soldier wearing a funny looking hat?"

"That's the captain, silly. Don't you know anything? Here, put him on his horse. Oh.. not that one. The captain's horse is the finest of the lot. And he always stands ahead of the cannon to signal the firing-"

Wade unwillingly launched into a detailed explanation of the war and various military strategies and Ella contentedly fingered the shining coat of varnish on the wooden soldiers and how far apart she could pull the arms until they fell out.

Suddenly they heard the sounds of the carriage drawing up outside the house and Wade jumped to his feet. He ran to the window and eagerly peered out. It was Mother! She was back at last! Wade's face lighted up with happiness and he shyly slipped behind Aunt Pittypat to welcome his Mother. He had missed her terribly and had longed to ask her about his tree-house at Tara.

Suddenly he heard a sickening snapping sound behind him. It was the unmistakable sound of the breaking of wood.

Wade turned horrified to Ella who had broken the captain's leg in two! Any other boy would have immediately pulled his little sister's hair or given her a hard slap. But not Wade. He stood there stunned, hardly noticing Aunt Pitty who was shouting instructions to Uncle Peter about carrying all of Scarlett's things into the upstairs room. He didn't notice the servants. He didn't even notice Ella, who had skipped outside to greet her Mother. Instead his eyes began to well up with tears. He had loved that set and the finest figurine was the captain and he had fondly named him Wade Hampton. Now,Wade Hampton had a broken leg and he would never see war again! Tear upon tear fell down his cheeks and snatching up the broken soldier from the carpet, he bounded up the stairs and into his room. Mother would be cross and she would tell him to be a little man. Wade somehow couldn't be a little man just then.

* * *

Scarlett stepped out of the carriage, rosy-cheeked and in the highest of spirits. She pulled a surprised Ella for a quick hug and searched eagerly for Wade. "Where is he?" she asked Aunt Pittypat, entering the parlour and settling into the comfort of an armchair.

"He must have gone up to his room. I'll call him!"

"It's all right, Auntie" said Scarlett,rising to her feet. "I think I'll go upstairs and freshen up. The sea air is quite exhausting-"

"Yes, of course,dear. I quite understand. I'll send the maid upstairs at once!"

* * *

Scarlett knocked gently on Wade's room and opened the door. Her boy sat at the edge of his bed, his eyes swollen and his shoulders slumped in dejection.

"Why Wade - What's the matter?", asked Scarlett, walking across the room.

Wade didn't answer her. Instead he turned rabbit eyes at her face, terribly dreading the scolding that was to follow after the initial probing questions. Scarlett's eyes fell on some colored bit of wood shoved hastily under the bed and noticing the guilt on Wade's face, she stooped down and pulled out the curious object. It was the broken leg of the new expensive soldier set she had bought him just before her trip to Charleston.

"Wade, did you break this?"

"No. Ella broke it."

"I told you not to give your set to Ella-"

"But Aunt Pitty said I should share-", moaned Wade, fresh tears teasing the corners of his eyes. The sight of these tears stirred Scarlett's temper. It had been a terribly expensive set and Wade had begged her for it and promised her that he would take very good care of it. Now, he had gone and ruined his set. A sharp scolding was at the tip of her tongue regarding the cost of the set and his carelessness but she tightly pursed her lips.

"Now honey, where's the soldier who is missing his leg? Is this him? Oh, it's the captain,isn't it?"

"Captain Wade Hampton"

"Well well, Captain Wade Hampton with a broken leg-"

"He can't go to war now. His leg is broken"

Scarlett stared in surprise at the imagination of her son. She could tell him to be sensible and practical over the whole thing but after her trip to Charleston, Scarlett was determined not to be so annoyingly practical about everything - especially where her children were concerned.

"Yes. His leg is broken. But.. " Scarlett looked around and found a stray ribbon. She bandaged the wooden leg and whispered,

"It is quite a war wound,Wade. Captains often get terribly wounded. I've seen soldiers being operated on, arms and legs getting sawed off for gangerine-"

"But Ella broke his leg!"

"Yes, I know, honey. But-" Scarlett forced herself to be as silly as possible. "Er...where was Captain Wade Hampton when he broke his leg?"

"He was at the front of the army. Right beside the cannon, on his horse" Wade forgot his tears and his imagination took flight.

"There, you see! He was a brave man, giving up his leg for his army, right beside the cannon. This is a war wound, Wade. And you should be proud!"

Wade's face beamed through the tears. He eagerly took the figurine from Scarlett and gazed happily at the bandaged leg.

"Now, go downstairs and have some tea. Mamma will join you after she takes a long hot bath-" said Scarlett and laying a hand on her boy's shoulder, she gently propelled him from the room.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

* * *

Scarlett voice chirped out in melodious tune as she flitted about her room, getting ready for tea. She carefully counted the contents of the heavy purse Rhett had given her just before she boarded the ship. There was enough money in there to buy a dozen new dresses and slippers to match! Scarlett flushed with pleasure and immediately observed her reflection to see how pretty she looked. Her cheeks were very rosy and her eyes seemed to glitter in the most lovely shade of green. Scarlett sighed happily and vowed that she would get chic dresses and not those gaudy ones that she had always favored before. She wondered how the people dressed in England. "Oh, England! Goodness, I've never been abroad before. Won't everyone be so green with envy?!" she snapped with childish glee. Her reflection looked so charming just then that she bent and blew herself a kiss. "But you must be kinder to everyone.", she told her reflection, strictly. "You must make lots of house-calls and go to Church more often and -"

Suddenly a thought struck her.

"The Atlanta house!" she gasped. "Oh dear, should I tell Aunt Pitty?" Scarlett looked pensive. Rhett had sounded most definite when he said he planned to sell the house and buy another piece of land just outside Atlanta. And as far as she understood Rhett, he was extraordinarily quick at these things. If he made up his mind, he would pull the strings and get the right people and settle matters without wasting time. If tomorrow a prospective buyer should come and ask for the keys to look the place over, Scarlett wouldn't be surprised. Rhett was too smart in these matters. And if Aunt Pitty heard the news from outside then absurd rumors will spread throughout Atlanta that the Butlers were planning for a divorce after all and were quarreling bitterly over the alimony or something equally ridiculous. Scarlett shuddered inwardly. She didn't want that at all! She wondered if she should write a letter to Rhett and ask him about how he planned to sell the house and when. As quickly as the idea presented itself, she quashed it. She would never get a decent reply out of Rhett. He would probably seize her letter as an opportunity to write back vague, nonsensical things and vex her all the more. Rhett was such a notorious tease and she wouldn't give him the pleasure of rattling her nerves. So, Scarlett decided half-heartedly to tell Aunt Pitty about the sale of the Atlanta house.

* * *

"My dear, so much has happened since your visit to Charleston! I have such exciting things to tell you!" cried Aunt Pitty, her small eyes beaming widely from her round, baby face. "But you must give me your news first! How are Pauline and Eulalie? And dear Captain Butler and his family. How are they all?"

"My Aunts are doing splendidly well, Aunt Pitty. They inquired about you and said they would write soon. I stayed in Mrs. Butler's new house along the Battery-"

"How is Captain Butler?" asked Aunt Pitty, dropping her voice furtively. "He _is_ coming back to Atlanta,isn't he, dear?"

Scarlett felt a mild wave of irritation. Aunt Pitty might as well have asked her outright if her marriage to Rhett was under jeopardy and if they were planning a divorce. As far as she knew, the people of Atlanta still seemed to cherish the notion that she had her hooks out for Ashley Wilkes and couldn't wait to divorce Rhett. A scathing reply danced at the tip of her tongue but she swallowed her words with great difficulty.

"Captain Butler is fine." she managed, stiffly. "We have planned to make a trip to England-"

"Oh, goodness, why ever for?" squealed Aunt Pitty, far too excited to keep her curiosity under wraps.

"We thought we could use a change of scenery. Rhett said he would take me soon after his trip to Cuba"

"Not to settle there, I hope?"

"Of course not!" snapped Scarlett. "We are going there on a trip - a pleasure trip."

"Yes, I've heard of people visiting other countries for the pleasure of it. The Wilkeses have been all over Europe. They say once a person visits Europe, they'd never be the same again." Aunt Pitty lost interest in this line of conversation and plunged into her own news of Atlanta's affairs.

"India Wilkes is getting married in two months and the wedding celebrations are going to be in this house. Isn't that exciting? When are you off to England, my dear? I do hope it isn't anytime soon. We do so need your advice on managing the entire event. Of course when dear, sweet Melly was alive, she would throw herself in the midst of things and help out so much, poor child. God rest her soul-"

"Our England trip is months away, Auntie. You have nothing to fear-"

"And now I'm afraid I have rather startling news for you- It's all very awkward and I don't quite know how to put it-" Aunt Pitty waved her hands jittery and reached for a handkerchief. Scarlett stifled a smile thinking of the absurdity of Aunt Pitty being unable to put across any piece of juicy gossip for want of delicacy. "Go on, Auntie. Tell me all about it" she prodded, knowing that Aunt Pitty often played at withholding vital information as if to torment the listener to distraction. It was a silly attempt but Aunt Pitty enjoyed being silly at these things.

"Well, I know its been only a month since Ashley Wilkes joined the board of education for the blacks and - well, you've probably heard that several teachers have been pulled in from the North - Yankee teachers - just to give the members an idea of the education system that is already well-established in the North. Well, a Miss. Jane Westley arrived just a week after you left. Such a charming young girl, about twenty five, I should say and she's in charge of training new teachers. I know it seems strange but Miss. Westley has studied extensively in Europe and she knows a lot of history and geography and such things that one learns in schools and she's brought back a lot of books and globes and things. Quite an accomplished young thing. And Mr. Wilkes-"

Aunt Pitty stopped here, her face turning very pink and Scarlett realized the implication.

"Do you mean to tell me, Auntie, that Ashley Wilkes likes this newly arrived Miss. Westley?"

"Ohh! I know it sounds awful! I mean just after Melanie's death and everything but I suppose the poor man suffers from loneliness and no one can ever give a Wilkes much company - They are such a rare, refined breed-"

Scarlett shot a look of contempt and said nothing.

"I saw them conversing for a long long time at the recent Ball. Ashley Wilkes and Miss. Jane Westley! Mrs. Merriweather was against it from the start. She called it shameful and that it brought dishonor to the cherished memory of our dear Melanie Wilkes. But we all agreed that the poor man must suffer from loneliness and little Beau does need a mother to take care of him-"

"I'd like that!" cried Scarlett, furious. "A widower can marry anytime he wants and a window must wait for years and marry in her old age. Where is the fairness in our genteel society- And as for Beau, I have been taking perfectly good care of Beau and Rhett has been most generous saying that he will go even as far as to secure him a good college education-"

Aunt Pitty hastened to assuage her fiery temper. "I know, my dear. I know that you are doing everything for little Beau. But wait, I have more news to tell-" Aunt Pitty's face turned pink again. "Just a few weeks back, just after Miss. Westley arrived, the vacant lot at the street adjacent to Peachtree, was taken up and to our great surprise, we learnt that Mr. Charles Westley was to come and live in it. So, Jane Westley was indeed the daughter of Charles Westley , the famous Westleys from Charleston!"

Aunt Pitty looked triumphant but Scarlett looked blank for she had never heard of this famous Westley family. When she expressed her ignorance to her Auntie, Pittypat stared back at her in disdain. "Captain Butler must know of the Westleys. They were the wealthiest plantation owners in Charleston-"

"Cotton plantations?"

"Yes, indeed! Charles Westley managed a great cotton plantation and it was all burned down years ago during the war. But!" Aunt Pitty drew a sharp breath of excitement. "They've built it back - on a sharecropping system crafted by Charles Westley himself-"

"I have heard of sharecropping-"

"My dear, Charles Westley is an expert at it. They say he has a hundred black field-hands to do his bidding-"

"Why, Auntie- that is impossible!" cried Scarlett, getting excited beside herself. "A hundred field-hands! Why, the wages alone!"

"Wages - nothing! He manages it all quite splendidly and is making a fine profit for himself. And he has moved here to Atlanta. I did hear rumors that he may buy Ashley Wilkes's Twelve Oaks and run a plantation here as well-"

"Ashley would never sell Twelve Oaks!"

"Its only rumors, dear. But if Jane Westley should-" Aunt Pitty's voice trailed off suggestively and Scarlett imagined the implied marriage between Jane Westley and Ashley Wilkes. Why, Ashley would become wealthy again and Twelve Oaks would regain its former state!

Scarlett sat back speechless and Aunt Pitty looked pleased with the sensation she had caused.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello, everyone.. this is a kind of important chapter because it sort of fuels my story. Keep reviewing. Thank you very much! :)**

**Chapter 3**

* * *

That night, Scarlett lay on her bed without a wink of sleep. Several thoughts coursed through her mind about this new sharecropping rage. She had heard all about it from Rhett's brother and surely Rhett knew all about it too. But it wasn't so popular then. Perhaps, it had become a rage during that month where she buried herself in Charleston! Scarlett knew that** sharecropping meant leasing the land to the blacks who would work the cotton and share in the profits**. She wouldn't have to provide them with shacks and garden patches or food. Under sharecropping, the blacks were responsible for their own needs. Scarlett rose up from her bed and walked to the side table. She pulled a chair for herself and a sheet of paper and a pen. She began to calculate the cost of hiring the blacks against the final cotton profits on the leased land. The difference did not amount to much and she slumped in her seat. Perhaps, this sharecropping wouldn't work out for Tara after all...

Then she sat up with a thought. **Why, the blacks would need horses and carts and ploughs. They would need baskets and tools. They could rent it from her and she could charge them for it. And she could charge shacks and food too!** A faint gleam returned to her eyes. She re-worked the profits and found that she had much to gain by this sharecropping system. She'd get a dozen brand new horses, stout and healthy and fine carts and ploughs and she'd charge them at a good price!

"Ashley Wilkes is certainly very clever to seize this opportunity but he would never make the best of it!Not like Scarlett O Hara!." she thought, her eyes snapping with vitality. "Well, if Twelve Oaks was going to be restored, then I would have to restore Tara too!"

And now came the small, nagging matter of money. She would have to get the money out of Rhett. Perhaps if she wrote him a letter...

Scarlett eagerly threw open a nearby window to let in more moonlight. She mustn't waste any time. She took a fresh sheet of paper and began to write,

_"Dear Rhett, how are you, darling? I've reached Atlanta and I miss you already. Wade and Ella are both fine and Aunt Pitty's been taking good care of them during the last month. You know, darling, a lot has happened here in Atlanta during the past month. You'd never believe it. Aunt Pitty's been telling me a lot of gossip and she mentioned that the Westley family from Charleston are planning to settle here in Atlanta and start a cotton plantation. Have you heard of the Westley's? I've never heard of them. And they are from Charleston, so you must surely know of them. Well, Rhett, it seems Mr. Charles Westley has the entire town buzzing about sharecropping. We were discussing it with your brother at your home, remember? Well,..."_

Scarlett's pen trailed off here. Not for want of words but she suddenly wondered if she was being too hasty. What ever would Rhett say? He would mind her leasing out Tara and she was sure she could get Suellen and Will to agree with her. But Rhett would immediately want to know how she would get the blacks to work on her land. She had planned to approach Mr. Charles Westley and she was sure she could get an audience with him through an introduction from Ashley Wilkes.

"Rhett hates Ashley!" Scarlett's face drooped in realization. What if Rhett got jealous all over again. "Oh dear, and I had gone through so much pains to get him back to me-" Then Scarlett reasoned. "No, Rhett wouldn't get jealous. He knows I love him and not Ashley. He'd be quite pleased that Ashley was seeing this "all-knowing" Jane Westley! Rhett knows I need him more than any other man-"

And Scarlett did need Rhett. She needed him to squelch her fears, to give her the right perspective when she fretted about things and to laugh at her silliness. She liked that part of Rhett that always kept her guessing, that kindled a fiery spark in her eyes and made her feel like a belle more than any other man ever made her feel. She fondly thought of Rhett's swarthy brown face and his dark, black eyes. And that mouth that was always pulled down at the corners when he was in a sardonic mood. Oh, she loved Rhett and he loved her desperately!

But now the **real** problem presented itself.

Rhett wouldn't mind her sharecropping intentions. No, that wouldn't bother him at all. He might actually appreciate her business sense.

"But!" Scarlett's face clouded with anger. "Rhett would suspect right from the start that I would never do anything with less profit in it and he'd laugh aside all my noble sentiments of restoring Tara. Instead, he'd demand brutal honesty about my penny-pinching schemes to make a mouth-watering profit out of Tara's lease!"

Scarlett was very sure of this and the thought goaded her. Leave it to Rhett. He would be sweetly sentimental of everything other than places where Scarlett was concerned. Oh, he would never get sentimental with her! Scarlett's face twisted in an ugly pout. Rhett knew her shrewd, ruthless streak only too well. He would also guess with that mocking smile of his that she would never trust the lease entirely to Will and Suellen and would personally poke around until she gained full control of the restoration of Tara. He'd tease her endlessly saying **she loved sticking her finger in every pie.**

Scarlett threw down her pen in resignation.

God had definitely trapped her with such an exacting husband. And now that she was in love with him, there was nothing she could do. She couldn't turn bull-headed for fear of hurting Rhett. But she couldn't very well show him her prices! He'd call it highway robbery! She looked reluctantly at the rates she had quoted for the horses and carts. Will would never charge so much and the Fontaines and the Tarletons would definitely call her rates exorbitant. And to charge for food and perhaps medicines and clothes where Ellen had been so generous and had been called "Lady Bountiful"... If the neighbors heard of it, they'd ostracize her again! They'd click their tongues and say that they knew all along that Scarlett O Hara was not anything like her Mother!

But times had changed, hadn't they? Her Mother lived in a near-perfect world where she could afford to work tirelessly and generously for the benefit of the less fortunate. But Scarlett thought with a flush of guilt that she was now more well-off than her Mother had ever been. Her Mother never had satin slippers and lovely dresses to wear. She never drove around in the best of carriages and played with such extravagance that Rhett had lavished upon her. Scarlett could afford to be like her Mother now. But if she was like her Mother, then she'd be no different from Ashley Wilkes.

The thrill of competing sharecropping fortunes against Twelve Oaks had been devilishly enticing. To give that up for generosity and good nature! Goodness, she'd rather not do anything at all in that case!

No, Rhett wouldn't join the Old Guard and chide her. But he would aggravatingly hint at **"her practicality taking over her elusive better nature"**.

But how else could she make a substantial profit out of the lease?

Rhett's coarse barbs, truthful to the end, were worse than any criticism. To have his eyebrows shoot up in sardonic crescents and that maddening way in which he tore down her defenses- What if Rhett allowed her to pursue her plans and decided not to have another baby for fearing that she wouldn't have time for it.

**"Oh, damn everything!"** cried Scarlett, vexed.

Scarlett still puzzled over this better nature that Rhett kept harping on about.

Scarlett wearily crushed the paper and walked back to her bed. The truth was, she was inadvertently working up a fine envy for Ashley Wilkes and Twelve Oaks. No, she wasn't jealous of Jane Westley. If that girl wants to be shackled to an idealistic, impractical Wilkes, it was allright with her. She didn't care for Ashley. Not at all! But she was terribly envious. She had imagined John Wilkes's fine antebellum house rising up out of the ashes and had felt a twinge of envy instantly. And this envy was driving her that night. No, she couldn't allow it. She musn't! For Rhett's sake. For her sake.

She firmly pushed back memories of Tara's flourishing pre-war glory and settled down to sleep. She missed Rhett terribly just then. He was her soul and he'd put everything in the right perspective. But she wouldn't write to him just yet. She'd write to him later and.. and.. she wouldn't mention this at all. Tara was doing allright and so what if these Westley's were successful in sharecropping-

Tiredness from the journey finally took over her thoughts and lulled her to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The next morning, Scarlett was in much better spirits and she decided to take Ella with her on a whole day of shopping for dresses and shoes. The morning light seemed to dispel her envy and her fears. She recalled her conversation with Aunt Pitty and realized that she had indeed exaggerated everything her Auntie had told her. After all, the Westley family was only then building their house and it was only a fine rumor that Ashley liked Jane Westley. Rumors in Atlanta were usually quite presumptuous and spread faithfully from ear to ear by the mealy-mouthed matrons themselves. Scarlett had learned to ignore rumors before and she would ignore them again. No, she had worried over everything quite unnecessarily. Scarlett decided to make a beeline to the row of new dress shops on Commercial Market street nearer to the depot. And since Ella was old enough, she decided to take her without a maid. But this turned out to be a mistake.

Until that day, Scarlett had no idea that Ella could be such a handful. She knew that her daughter was silly and was as frisky as a wild horse. Mammy had complained often enough and so had Prissy. But the Scarlett experienced the full flower of Ella's rambunctious behavior only that day! The day that she took on Ella without her maid to chaperone her.

Perhaps it was the thrill of visiting dress shops. Perhaps it was the colorful sights and sounds of the Market street which was so different from any other street. Scarlett didn't know. Whatever it was, Ella was thoroughly distracted so much so that she blatantly refused to obey Scarlett's words. When Scarlett showed her various silk frocks and asked her which one she liked best, Ella threw a blank, disinterested gaze and she wriggled away to inspect the rolls of cloth arranged in the corner and toppled them much to the dismay of the shop-owner. Ella begged for some garishly-colored ice candy and bawled out loud when Scarlett refused for Ella had just then recovered from a cold. Scarlett quickly reddened and bought her the candy and pulled her along before anybody she knew came up to give her some friendly advice.

But the final incident to top it all off came that evening when Ella disappeared completely the moment Scarlett's back was turned. Scarlett had only then lowered her head with interest at the newly arrived shades of watered down silk and as she picked the colors she liked best, she peered around for Ella and her daughter was nowhere to be found. Panic stricken, Scarlett rushed out of the shop and into the crowded street. She looked this way and that but she couldn't spot her little girl. Worry flooded Scarlett's senses for the depot was close by and any stranger could lead Ella by the hand to a nearby train and then her baby would be lost forever!

Scarlett's stride turned into a run as she pushed past the people, searching frantically for Ella in the nooks and corners of the bustling street. Tired and nerve-wracked with worry, Scarlett was near breaking point when she finally spotted Ella sitting on a stone seat with a stray kitten in her hands. Gulping back angry tears, Scarlett strode up to her daughter and jerked her to her feet. The kitten hissed in terror and scratched itself out of Ella's clinging grasp.

"He got away!" wailed Ella, trying to pull free and run after the kitten. Unable to restrain her temper any longer, Scarlett gave her daughter a hard pinch on her arm.

"Mama's been looking for you everywhere!" snapped Scarlett, viciously. "I told you to sit down and wait until Mama chose her dresses. Why didn't you listen? Why did you go out of the shop? Don't you know its dangerous for a little girl like you to go roaming down the streets?"

Ella's eyes were filled with tears but they were directed at the fleeing ball of fur and not at Scarlett. She had hardly listened to Scarlett's words.

"Now, come along!" said Scarlett, pulling Ella back to the shop by the hand.

"Pardon me-"

Scarlett turned around and saw a young woman, standing behind her with a shy smile on her face. "Your daughter was quite safe. I.. I found her wandering out of the shop and I didn't know she was your daughter. I asked her but she couldn't.." The woman hesitated. ".. didn't.. tell me, you see.. and so I assumed she was lost and.. she seemed to like the kitten and so, we've just been sitting here together, waiting for her Mother or Father to come looking-"

Scarlett's face relaxed with an effort and her white lips curved into a rigid semblance of a smile. "Thank you. I.. I was so distraught that I didn't notice anything but that my daughter was allright-"

"Oh, I quite understand!" smiled back the woman. She bent down to Ella and said, "So, your name is Ella, isn't it? I told you I'd find out somehow even if you didn't tell me-"

"Her name is Ella Lorena" completed Scarlett. "She's my second child and she's been very unruly today!"

"Children always are at that age" agreed the woman. She gave her shy smile again and put out a soft, gloved hand. "My name is Jane Westley. I am a teacher ..for the public school they are opening shortly- I'd just arrived last month and Atlanta is so different from any other town I've ever known-"

Scarlett looked stunned. "Well, its definitely a pleasure-" she said, trying to sound cheerful and failing out of pure curiosity. Oh, so this was Jane Westley! Upon closer inspection, her near-heart shaped face, the brown hair that would have looked lovely in curls but was done up in an unflattering bun.. why, she did oddly resemble Melanie Wilkes! No wonder Ashley liked her! Oh goodness, what a strange coincidence to run into her! "I'm Mrs. Scarlett Butler. My husband is Captain. Rhett Butler - he.. err.. works at the Atlanta Bank when he's in town and not on his trips abroad."

"A pleasure, Mrs. Butler. Butler.. oh yes! You must be one of our generous benefactors! I heard the name mentioned during the meetings. I think its wonderful how the good people of Atlanta are extending such helping hands for a noble cause!"

Scarlett smirked inwardly. Why, this girl even sounded like Melanie Wilkes. Would wonders never cease! "To any newcomer, Atlanta may seem a little overwhelming-"

"Oh! Very!"

"And you are from?"

"I'm from Charleston. I was born and brought up there although I spent a good deal of the recent years abroad. Father was most insistent that I shouldn't see the war. There was so much grief and destruction, you see-" Jane's eyes were round and innocent. It was clear that she had not seen one day of hardship during the war and during the terrible aftermath of starvation and disease.

"I am not a native here either. My father, Mr. O Hara owned a large cotton plantation a little away from Jonesboro - Tara.. It's not been the same since the war-"

"Oh, yes, it must be terrible to find your world shattered and the grief that nothing could ever bring back those happy days again-"

Scarlett gazed with disbelief at the tears that were forming on Jane's eyes. Either they were crocodile tears or she was truly impossibly soft-hearted! "I must be off. My father is due to arrive in a week and I am to make the arrangements. I was just on my way to the post office when I saw little Ella here. Goodbye, Ella. Promise to be good and not run off behind your Mother's back, all right?"

With another bright smile, Jane Westley trotted off leaving Scarlett to once again marvel at the uncanny resemblance between her and Melanie.

Scarlett decided not to return to the shops. Instead, she put Ella in a carriage and climbed in after her. "We are going home" she said strictly to Ella and held her hand until they reached Aunt Pitty's house. From then on, Scarlett kept a close watch on Ella. She realized with a start that her daughter had several failings and tendencies that would impair her chances for happiness in the future years. "I simply must do something about it!" she decided and firmly instructed Prissy to call her every time she laid out the meals for Ella or at night times when Ella was ready for bed. Any tantrum must be strictly informed and not hushed up and playtime would now be in the front hall under Scarlett's watchful gaze. However long it would take, Scarlett didn't care. Her mind was made up. She was going to teach Ella several lessons on waiting her turn, getting along with her friends and family, asking help when she needed it and not fly into a rage for silly things.

Scarlett decided to take Ella to Commercial Market street sometime next month and the next time, her daughter was going to be on her best behavior!.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

By the end of the second week, a grand carriage, newly varnished and gleaming with brass stopped outside Aunt Pitty's house. A very well-known and much despised Northerner, a Carpetbagger and one of Rhett's dubious, wealthy friends, alighted and knocked at the front door for the keys to Scarlett's Atlanta house. Aunt Pitty received him with a cold gaze and beat a quick retreat to her room, fondly imagining her flight to indicate that she had no pleasure in receiving Yankees into her abode. But Mr. Rogers bore no qualms in invading a Southerner's home. He grinned broadly at Scarlett and drawled in his Yankee accent,

"I came to hear that your lovely Atlanta home is for sale, Madam and I came to borrow the keys to look the place over. Mr. Butler quoted a decent price for it and you'll be happy to know that its a near done deal-"

Upon receiving the keys, Mr. Rogers tipped his hat and left with Scarlett standing at the front porch and staring after him. Oh fine, Rhett had put her in a nice spot! By the evening, everyone will know that the Atlanta house is going to that crooked Yankee family and she will have the old dragons breathing down her neck. Of all the people to sell the house to, why did Rhett have to pick him!?

Scarlett fumed silently and realized that Aunt Pitty was beside her, her lips pursed and quivering in firm disapproval.

* * *

"Scarlett, you must write to Captain. Butler and tell him strictly not to sell his house to a Carpetbagger. It is bad enough as it is to have our town invaded by these Northerners and to have such an unscrupulous family lodged right upon our necks! Why, it simply cannot be borne!"

Scarlett was momentarily distracted by the way in which the large ostrich plume on Mrs. Merriweather's bonnet shook when the old lady barked out her words. She stirred herself from her distractions and sighed, "There is nothing I can do in this matter, Mrs. Merriweather. Captain Butler had already spoken to Mr. Rogers and the papers had been signed days ago. I came to know of it only this morning-"

As soon as Scarlett said the words, she bit her lip. She shouldn't have said it. When she saw Mrs. Merriweather throwing a glance in Aunt Pitty's direction, she knew that they were thinking the same thing. Rhett was planning to divorce Scarlett and he was not too keen on supporting her with alimony.

"We are planning to buy larger land just outside Atlanta, away from the town and closer to Tara" offered Scarlett, earnestly. But the ladies looked unconvinced.

"Well, my dear, I only hope that Captain Butler will change his mind. I came here assuming that his wife would be able to convince him of the hastiness of his decisions, but I see I was wrong-" Something in Mrs. Merriweather's flippant remark challenged Scarlett and she shot back spiritedly,

"I don't know what you mean, Mrs. Merriweather. Frankly, I don't see the harm in it! The Yankees are ordinary people and while their customs and views may be vastly different, I don't see how their moving here to this street can harm our people. And your own house is miles away so their presence shouldn't bother you-"

Mrs. Merriweather was shocked into silence by the defiance in Scarlett's words. She rose up stiffly and prepared to make her departure. Scarlett realized her hands were trembling with emotion for this was the first time she had ever directly stood up to the domineering Mrs. Merriweather. She liked the old lady, but sometimes her bossy ways got on her nerves!

* * *

That evening, Scarlett feverishly penned down her letter,

_"... Rhett, you should have given me some intimidation that you were going to sell the house to one of your Carpetbagger friends. Everyone here is furious and they all seem to think that we are headed for a divorce. I do wish you would hurry up and return to Atlanta and put an end to all this gossip..."_

Scarlett moodily tapped her pen for further ideas when she suddenly heard the voice of Ashley Wilkes in the hall below. Thankful for the diversion and with high hopes of eliciting information about the Westley family, Scarlett quickly brushed down her straying wisps of hair and rushed down the stairs to greet Ashley.

* * *

"Well, Scarlett, whatever possessed Captain Butler to sell his Atlanta home? I only just heard the news and it was quite a shock. You were rather fond of it, weren't you?" Unlike Mrs. Merriweather, there was no hint of malice in Ashley's tone. Instead his words were tinged with gentle concern. Scarlett warmed up to him at once and returned a grateful smile.

"Yes, I was quite fond of it and you know, I designed the whole thing.. but ever since Bonnie's death, neither I nor Rhett can look at those halls the same way as before-"

"But isn't selling a bit of a drastic move?"

"Oh, we are shifting actually. We are shifting to the outskirts. Rhett thought it would be a good idea for me to stay near Tara-"

Ashley smiled at this. His drowsy grey eyes relaxed to limpid pool of water. "Well, when is this new house going to be constructed?"

"Rhett has to decide. He is due to arrive in two months or so-"

"Then he won't be in time for India's wedding-" , chimed in Aunt Pittypat.

"I'm afraid so-" Scarlett's eyes twinkled. "Now, Ashley, tell me all about this new Miss. Jane Westley I've been hearing so much about-"

As soon as Scarlett mentioned her name, Ashley's face flushed to a mild shade of red. "She is one of the women they've requested to come and train the teachers on the education system that is already existent in the North. As a person, she is possesses a great deal of knowledge and has a good disposition. I daresay she would be very successful in her venture-"

"What Aunt Pitty and I want to know is-" cut in Scarlett, impishly. "-is what you think of her-"

"Well!" cried Aunt Pittypat, coloring up instantly. She hadn't expected Scarlett to include her in her jocular taunts with Ashley. Scarlett's eyes glittered a bright shade of green and Ashley looked rather pleased that she wished to tease him so. He gave a helpless laugh and said,

"She is the only woman I know who more idealistic than me. She spent a large time up in various parts of Europe and she doesn't have an inkling of what life was like during or after the war. I'm sure she means well but some of her ideas won't really fit in with our present Reconstruction era-"

"And you are going to tell her all this?", teased Scarlett, amused.

"It isn't my place to tell" returned Ashley, elegantly.

"Will we be seeing the Westley's at India's wedding?"

"Of course! Mr. Charles Westley's presence at the wedding is definitely an honor and great privilege!"

"Is he a planter, Ashley?"

"Well, yes and no.. he did own a huge cotton plantation in Charleston but he never got down to the actual management like your father, Mr. O Hara. He left it up to his son-"

"Oh, he has a son?"

"Yes. One son and one daughter. I'm not sure of the name- I'll introduce him to you if you like-"

"Oh yes, I'd like that very much!" beamed Scarlett. She ventured, trying to be as subtle as possible, "Ashley, I'm afraid I've not been entirely honest. I had met Miss. Westley before. Oh, it was days ago at the Market street. I was instantly struck by how much she resembled Melanie-"

"Oh no. She isn't anything like Melanie, Scarlett" refuted Ashley at once. "Melanie was strong and realistic. Of course, she would never come right out and say exactly what she was thinking but she always tip-toed around me, always eager to reassure that my world would never be destroyed. She sustained me, Scarlett. More than anyone I'd ever known. But Miss. Westley - she cannot offer such reassurance but instead she herself needs reassurance - She is like a child, so innocent and so eager to live up to her ideals- But she is very knowledgeable. She and I have read the same books, visited the same places, studied the same languages-"

"Then you are courting her!"

"Scarlett, really!" smiled Ashley, with his usual benign smile. "What probing questions you ask! I fear I have spoken too much already-"

"Oh Ashley, do tell me the truth. You know you can't keep secrets from me. You do like Miss. Westley at least?"

Ashley leaned back with a resigned smile. He knew better than to challenge Scarlett's spirit where her curiosity was concerned. "Well, yes, I do admit that I like her immensely. But not to the point of a declaration-"

"But it might happen anytime soon?"

"Scarlett, one cannot go rushing into these things! Marriage means life-long commitment and oneness in thinking. I cannot make any declaration until I know Miss. Westley completely-"

"It would be the first time a Wilkes married outside the family circle-"

"Yes indeed! That is something to be considered!"

Scarlett decided to give Ashley a reprieve. She was satisfied for now. Ashley would marry Jane Westley and- Suddenly the odd pang of envy struck her again. "I wonder if he really would begin the restoration of Twelve Oaks-" The thought disturbed Scarlett and subdued her happiness.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

* * *

The vague feeling of apprehension that began the evening that Scarlett spoke to Ashley grew steadily as the weeks turned into months and the time drew closer for India's wedding. Every Sunday when Scarlett rode to church, she gazed anxiously at the growing Westley house on the adjacent street. It was turning out to be quite a large house with rolling lawns and gardens. Suddenly she wondered if she had been too hasty to ask Rhett to sell her own house. They would be staying at a hotel or at Tara for months together while the new house was being built and she couldn't entertain the Westleys there! Scarlett snapped out of her reverie and poked fun at herself for running away with her feelings. Yet she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being threatened in some way. And that feeling became harder and harder to suppress as the days went by.

* * *

Long before India's wedding, the matrons of Atlanta guessed that Ashley Wilkes was courting Jane Westley. It was an open secret for the two spoke at lengths together at several house parties and although Ashley avoided dancing waltzes or reels, he accompanied Jane a good deal and was at his chivalrous best with her. Scarlett watched this kindling romance with mixed feelings. The practical side of her told her that Jane Westley was good for Ashley Wilkes who would finally be off her hands- her promise to Melanie about taking care of Ashley and Beau would come to a natural end. Jane Westley was rich enough and Ashley must have saved up a fair amount to keep her comfortable. On the other hand, the alliance with Jane Westley might revive Ashley hopes of Twelve Oaks. Scarlett fumed inwardly. Why shouldn't she approach Mr. Westley and hire blacks for her own Tara?

Dreams of Tara, its red, rolling fields embroidered with dark, soughing pines and oak trees, the tall-grass lawns where she lay on her back in her green taffeta dress, bathed in warm sunlight, smelling the flowers and listening to the humming bees- such dreams haunted Scarlett at night times and during the day. If she had her way, then the carts would be rolling in once more from the fields, the songs of the field-hands would once again fall on her ears and the white-washed walls of the plantation house would have purpose once again!

But she held her emotions in check until the evening of India's wedding when the celebrations were in full swing and when Ashley gentle led her by the arm and introduced her to Mr. Charles Westley, the once-owner of the largest cotton plantation in Charleston town.

* * *

Mr. Charles Westley was nearly sixty-years old but he didn't look the part at all. He was a very tall man and he had a magnificent crown of thick white hair. His face was only mildly wrinkled with age and a pair of unusually shrewd,grey eyes peered under bushy white eyebrows. His lips were hidden behind a glorious moustache that seemed twice as luxuriant as Dr. Meade's! He leaned on his ebony cane and walked with a slight limp - an injury sustained during the war and should heal some time soon, paid the necessary compliments to the ladies and did not hesitate to assume center stage to speak crisp and meaningful words of advice to the young gentleman in the room. Mr. Westley, his wife, son and daughter together made the picture of a lovely Southern family that had seen the grim days of war, survived and now sought to make the best of the challenging new world! He was in every way a gentleman and Scarlett realized with growing alarm that Ashley might indeed be the perfect son-in-law for him.

When Ashley introduced Scarlett as Mrs. Butler, wife of Captain. Rhett Butler from Charleston, Mr. Westley's eyebrows immediately shot up in queer amusement. "The Butlers of Charleston! Why, of course - I know the family very well. Mr. Butler was a great friend of mine, we went to college together - a fine gentleman, old school through and through - But that doesn't leave much to say about his oldest son and your husband, my dear-"

Scarlett instantly bristled with the insult but before she could speak, Mr. Westley laughed out loud. "Oh, I didn't mean any effrontery. I have locked horns with Captain. Butler during the war, he used to run his boats through the Charleston port and transport our cotton to England. But he always had a sharp eye for profits - too sharp, if you ask me - he drives a very hard bargain- he's got a chip on his shoulder about the entire Southern tradition, hasn't he? Vastly different from his father-" Mr. Westley's eyes twinkled merrily at her. "A great pleasure to have made your acquaintance, Mrs. Butler. And my best wishes to your own cotton plantation - err.. Tara, isn't it? Yes.. I have been on a tour of the County and all I've seen is wasteland ,dried-up lakes and shriveled up farms - The South is not what it used to be and I aim to restore some of its original beauty."

"-through sharecropping-" interjected Scarlett, brightly.

"Why yes!" beamed Mr. Westley. "Well, well.. you must be a smart young woman to know about sharecropping-"

"I am terribly interested in it, Mr. Westley. It seems to have become quite the rage that is sweeping through the South, hasn't it?"

Mr. Westley frowned. "It is a rage, but it must be done correctly - the management, I mean- or we would end up losing a good deal of money to the blacks. They must enjoy their rights, but not at our expense. They must learn the hard life that awaits them as freemen- Why under us, they were enslaved but they had free food, free clothing, free medicines - blessings in disguise! Their children were well-taken care of, their babies nursed in caring homes, their young boys trained in various skills as seen fit- Now that they have wrenched away their freedom, they must see what a struggle it is to survive on their own - they must face realities, assume responsibilities, pick up skills-"

Mr. Westley's words rang in Scarlett's ears as the gospel truth and she listened enraptured until another young man bearing faint semblance to Mr. Westley came and politely requested Mr. Westley's presence in another corner of the room. He bowed to Scarlett but when he looked up, there was a look of cynical amusement in his eyes.

"Who is that man?" asked Scarlett, staring after him.

"He is Mr. Westley's eldest son - Mr. Henry Westley. From what I've heard of him, he is a very smart young man- a year younger than I-" said Ashley. "He's got a good head for business and he manages his father's affairs remarkably well! Currently he is overseeing the building of their home in Atlanta. Mr. Westley was not jesting when he said that he aimed to restore some of the Southern landscape, Scarlett. He did put it mildly though. He is actually planning to start a plantation here. He is one of those few Southern gentlemen who can demand great respect even amongst the Yankees-"

It was on the tip of her tongue to ask if Ashley had any plans for Twelve Oaks, but she swallowed her words tactfully. There was no sense in panicking and revealing her base intentions to Ashley just then. She must be patient to see how things would develop - if they would develop at all. And staying patient was an impossible task for Scarlett!

* * *

The new Mr. and Mrs. John Alderly were off on their honeymoon and Aunt Pitty was quite tearful to see India leave. Although she had been afraid of India's stiff manners and strong sense of decorum, over the years, especially after Melanie's death, India had softened considerably to a semblance of an actual human being and Aunt Pitty had grown attached to her. "Soon, Captain Butler will descend upon us and whisk you and the children away and I will be left alone again in this great house with only Uncle Peter to protect me-" she wailed and promptly fainted so that Scarlett could run and get her swoon bottle.

"Darling Auntie, you know I shall never be very far and I'll come and visit you as often as I can- and as for Rhett "descending" upon us, I haven't the faintest clue where he is or when he would arrive at Atlanta. There has not been one letter, one telegram clarifying his whereabouts- you have nothing to fear,Auntie- at least for now-"


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Another month went by and there was still no letter from Rhett. Scarlett heard news of the Westleys almost every week. Their house was finished and they moved in and gave a grand party to the entire neighborhood. After that Mr. Westley and his son had left Atlanta for the countryside and Scarlett was dying to know where they were planning to build their plantation. She wrote eagerly to Suellen and Will but Suellen was too lazy and silly to write a truly informative letter and could hardly satiate Scarlett's burning questions.

A few days later, the news that Ashley Wilkes was leaving for Clayton County reached her ears. Now Scarlett's suspicions were confirmed. The Westley's were indeed planning to take a partnership with Ashley and restore Twelve Oaks. Why else would Ashley go to Clayton County? Scarlett's heart beat rapidly. She had to get Mr. Westley's attention to Tara. She simply had to!

"Oh, damn Rhett!" she snapped in fury. "If he wasn't coming any time soon, at least he could write and tell of his intentions! Then I could plan a trip to Tara and see for myself what was going on down there!" She angrily wrote him a second letter and waited sourly for a reply. But no reply came.

Her waking dreams of Tara slowly turned into an obsession.

She imagined cart loads of blacks arriving at Twelve Oaks, the new horses and tools being unloaded promptly thanks to Mr. Westley's enormous wealth and influence. She writhed in turmoil thinking of the sharp axes being laid at the roots of the straggly undergrowth and into the barks of the wild trees that would have invaded the once-sacred grounds of Twelve Oaks. The forest would be cleared away and the fences repaired with new wood and fresh paint!. The ground would be raked and weeded until every unwanted plant and shrub was torn out and burned. Then the horses would be harnessed for work and the burrows would be made and the cotton seeds sown- Meanwhile another team of blacks would start repairing the long drive to the ancient antebellum house and tending to the flower gardens and lawns. And perhaps by the end of the year, the new Mrs. Ashley Wilkes and Ashley would take up residence once again at Twelve Oaks!

Scarlett couldn't shake the feeling that she was being threatened somehow -that Mr. Westley presented a vital opportunity that she would be a fool to miss!

* * *

After a night of tossing and turning, Scarlett finally drifted off to troubled sleep. She lay on her stomach, curled snugly under extra sheets to keep out the cold, hair tumbling freely over her shoulders and face. Far into the depths of her drowsy slumber, she felt something moving lightly across the side of her face. She shivered and ran a hand vaguely over her face. There was nothing there. Minutes later, she was fast asleep and again felt a ticklish sensation on the outline of her lips. She threw out her arms and furiously brushed her face. Scarlett pulled the sheets over her head. It must have been a stray insect -perhaps a fly. Suddenly something muscular and hard snaked around her ankles and pulled back the sheets to expose her feet. Hands began to rub the soles of her feet and Scarlett started with a cry that was half-muffled with confusion for want of clawing sleep. She peered through bleary eyes and could make out a large form sitting heavily upon her bed near her knees and cautiously mumbled, "Rhett?" The warmth on her feet was rising with the vigorous rubbing and as she fumbled about to sit up and pull away her legs, she found her toes wrenched back and fingers running lightly in spidery pace across the thick skin of her soles and tracing the arches of her feet! Scarlett shrieked out and twisted around, dissolving unwillingly into a fit of giggles as a flood of ticklish sensations played havoc on her nerves. "Rhett?!" she cried, trying to kick out but unable to escape the iron grip of her captor.

"Yes, Rhett!" retorted her tormentor, harshly. "I came hours ago and its a miracle I allowed you to sleep for this long- Just how long did you expect me to sit on the side of the bed and coax you out of your sleep? I tried calling you and you didn't even make a reply-"

The fingers began to slip tantalizing between her toes, trace the sensitive skin on the tops of her toes and tickle the skin underneath. "Rhett, stop! Turn me loose!" pleaded Scarlett, finding it impossible to suppress her laughter. She found her feet crossed firmly under grip and the arches of her heel stretched and fully exposed for merciless tickling. The fingers gently ran up and down and made tiny, tingling circles, teasing her nerve endings. They ran all along the outline of her feet and playfully teased the delicate skin underneath her ankles. She squirmed and kicked for all she was worth but was as helpless as a baby against the tide of expert tickling. Finally, the fingers stopped their play and the grip around Scarlett's legs loosened enough for her to wrestle up to a sitting position. She groaned and rubbed at her still-ticklish feet. "Oh dear, I wasn't expecting you. For heaven's sake, Rhett! Not a single letter or even a telegram in four months! What was I to think? You could have at least written a few days back to tell me you were coming-" She melted into a drowsy smile and sleepily pulled her arms around him and rested her heavy head snugly at the crook of his neck.

"You wanted me to give you an explanation of why I sold our house to Sam Rogers. I assumed that you were once again hiding behind your veil of hypocrisy to avoid the scorn of our Southern crowd. You know very well why I would have sold anyone anything-"

"Did you make him pay through his nose?"

"Indeed I did. Sam Rogers is one of those fools who likes to flaunt his ill-gotten gains. He has no taste! No wonder he liked the house!"

"Now Rhett, really!"

"I am only speaking the truth. And I think you should speak the truth too. You don't really mind who I sold it to as long as I made a profit out of it. And the only reason you are putting on airs is because the Atlanta gentry would have come heavily on you for your tactlessness in selling the house to a crooked Yankee politician- And about the suspicions of a divorce- let the fools think what they want to think-"

Scarlett made no reply for she was already drifting off to sleep. Rhett studied her perfectly blissful form with a look of reproach. "If you were any happier, you'd be purring like a cat!" he remarked, sarcastically. "I feel oddly frightened that I can no longer ruffle your feathers with my charming quips." Scarlett mumbled something intelligibly and tightened her arms closer, as if he were a pillow himself. "Now, don't you think you can catch your forty winks on me!"

"What time is it?" she yawned.

"Half-past three-"

"Oh, its much too early-" nuzzled Scarlett, comfortably. "-and I'm so tired. I slept so late, you see-"

"I thought you could use all the time you could get before we left for England day after tomorrow-"

Scarlett's eyes shot open at this startling announcement. All clinging traces of sleep vanished in a flash. She pulled back and stammered, "Day after tomorrow?! You.. you can't be serious-"

"Why not?" laughed Rhett at the astonishment on her face. His eyebrows knitted in amusement. "Don't tell me four months haven't been enough to put your "affairs" in order- You should be the darling of the Atlanta gentry by now."

Scarlett looked frustrated. It was not really because they were leaving for England so soon. But because she had secretly planned to cajole Rhett into going along with her plans for Tara. First she thought she would take him down to her farm and then mention in passing about Mr. Westley and his sharecropping fortunes and then perhaps tempt Rhett with the profits to be had in it. He was as shrewd as her to let such a ripe opportunity go by. But she must be careful not to let her envy of Twelve Oaks slip out!

"There is something else on your mind, isn't there?" discerned Rhett, his keen eyes watching the play of emotions on her face. "What is it?"

"How long are we going?"

Rhett hesitated for he knew she was evading his question. But still he answered, "Since we are going abroad, the longer we stay, the more benefits we reap for the money we are investing - I thought a month of sailing through the Isles should be quite entertaining - but it will probably take a month and a few more weeks depending on the weather at sea!"

"A month!" gasped Scarlett. Her mind feverishly calculated the extent of repair-work that might be completed in Twelve Oaks for such a long duration as a whole month! Why she might not be able to catch up with Mr. Westley if he was too far into the restoration of Ashley's grounds. Approaching him after the England trip might be too late!

"What is it?" pressed Rhett. "Don't you want to go to England anymore?"

"Oh, yes I do. You know I do. Rhett, a lot has happened during these four months. Do listen-" Scarlett put an eager hand on Rhett's arm and continued. "A family arrived here a few months ago - The Westleys from Charleston. I'm sure you've heard of them because Mr. Charles Westley seemed to know you. He said he knew your father as well. Darling, he has the most wonderful ideas about managing sharecropping. Now, I'm not hasty in concluding this. I mean with free blacks and no one knowing exactly how much wages to give or how to handle them under the new laws. To happen upon one Southerner who is not only handling a hundred black field-hands but is actually making a profit out of it - It's almost too good to be true, isn't it?"

"Just what are you driving at, my pet?" asked Rhett, his smooth black eyes suddenly carrying that inscrutable look that puzzled her so often before.

"I thought about Tara and well.. its only a shriveled up old farm now- perhaps it could be restored-"

Rhett propped up some pillows, opened his shirt down to the black mat of his chest and leaned back heavily. His face was in darkness and Scarlett could no longer see the expression in his eyes.

"But how does this affect our trip to England?" drawled Rhett, in that suave tone of voice that instantly put her on her guard. "What is going to happen in that one month?"

Scarlett was taken aback by this question. She never meant to tell Rhett about Twelve Oaks or Ashley Wilkes. But apparently she had given herself away- "Nothing is going to happen.. I.. I only wanted you to speak to Mr. Westley.. we shouldn't have to waste any time, should we?"

"So you would rather forgo a trip to England and stay here and overrun your precious Tara with hired blacks until the fields are flourishing from end to end with cotton?"

"I don't want to forgo anything, I-"

"But you want to start right away- Why? Why not a month later?"

"All right a month later, damn you!" spit out Scarlett, losing her temper. She immediately regretted it when she heard Rhett chuckling softly in the darkness. Now he would be more sure than ever that something was about to take place in the one month that they would be away.

"Oh Scarlett, I do find it charming that you still nurture the idea that you can keep secrets from me. Very well, as much as I hate people who act out a lie, I shall go along with it. I'd find out sooner or later anyway. As for Charles Westley, I know him - only too well, I regret to say. Did it ever cross you mind that if he survived the war and is flourishing in the present reconstruction period then he would have compromised somewhere in his ideals? How did you and I survive and stay rich? I kept back the Confederate gold and you relied on convict labor. Mr. Charles Westley would have compromised somewhere as well. That is why he is successful. Be careful with him, Scarlett. You might bite off more than you can chew-"

"Rhett, not everyone becomes rich by ill-gotten gains-"

"Getting rich is not the question. But getting rich quickly definitely is-"

"But sharecropping is the thing to do these days. Every plantation is reviving-"

"I am not against sharecropping,darling. If you want to lease Tara to the blacks and have them till the land and grow cotton for you that's quite all right by me. I know that you love Tara above everything and as maddening as it is, I've learned to accept that obsession in you. But, you can't manage sharecropping in the same way as you managed your mills. They were convicted men and they couldn't escape because they had broken the law. In sharecropping, there is nothing to keep the blacks from working under you, unless you deliberately pull wool over their eyes-"

"I don't understand-"

"You wouldn't." Rhett agreed. "This is the way sharecropping really works. A group of blacks are hired and not given any tools or carts to work the cotton. Oh, nothing is explicitly done. It's all covered up beautifully by our Southern gentility. They borrow equipment from the whites and their debts keep rising until the profits from the cotton are not enough to cover the debts. So they become indebted for years together and they become slaves all over again-"

"Oh, I didn't think of it that way-" mumbled Scarlett, guiltily. "I thought I could sell them carts and horses and charge them for it-"

"I'll bet, Mr. Westley would love to have an unscrupulous woman matching wits with him- you are ruthless enough to try anything-"

"Rhett, you're exaggerating. There is no slavery nowadays and.. and.. cotton prices are rising so the blacks won't really be in debts. And.. and if they should become indebted to me, I will set them free-"

"Would you, my pet?" A strange light gleamed behind Rhett's dark eyes. "That would be a fine test of your character and I would love to see it. When we come back from England, I'll help you in your new mission to restore Tara and wait around to see your elusive better nature. It will be worth the wait!"

"Oh,Rhett, you are so nice!" cried Scarlett, flopping down beside him and putting an arm over his chest. "Oh darling, I've been dreaming of Tara for so many days now. You have never seen its lush beauty, the way it used to look before the war ruined it all! And to think that I could restore it again-"

"You can never restore it without compromising somewhere, Scarlett and spare me your sentiments for I know that you are driven by profits and not by these dreams." One corner of Rhett's mouth was pulled down in mild contempt. "While you are free to use my money in your pursuits, you will know that I intend to keep a close watch on your books- Sometimes you are too smart for your own good, my dear-"

"I don't know what you mean" replied Scarlett,sweetly. She wanted Rhett's money and things were going better than she could ever hope for. She'd show Rhett how well she'd manage a hundred field-hands- just like how her Mother did- then she'd really be "Lady Bountiful!".

"And now there are no regrets about rushing right away to England, I hope? Or do you still insist upon that mysterious one month-" inquired Rhett, in smooth politeness.

"Oh no! No regrets at all.", assured Scarlett, at once. She threw a her best smile, dimples and all. "I love you, Rhett!" She pecked his hard cheek with a kiss and snuggled back, perfectly content. The last sound she heard was Rhett chuckling softly in the darkness before she sailed off to sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8 **

* * *

The next morning, Wade felt extremely proud to join everyone else at the breakfast table for Scarlett graciously told him that he was now old enough to sit with them. Scarlett eagerly pointed out Ella's improved behavior to Rhett. "She doesn't fidget quite as much anymore and throws lesser tantrums-"

"Yes" nodded Rhett, appreciatively. "I did notice that."

"I had to bribe her for good behavior with bonbons at first" continued Scarlett in half-whisper. "Then she got tired of it and asked me if I could save all the bonbons and get her a porcelain doll instead-" Scarlett laughed and her dimples showed prettily on her cheeks. "She's a smart little thing!"

Much of the conversation around the table was monopolized by Aunt Pitty extracting every bit of Charleston news from Rhett. He was only too eager to comply and began to tell choice stories that he felt were sure to appeal to Aunt Pitty's fancy. She loved gossip and Rhett had never yet failed to entertain her.

* * *

Scarlett modelled an expensive watered-down silk frock for Rhett and asked him what he thought of it. "It looks beautiful-" he replied, his dark eyes casually raking her from head to toe. "-although the heavy lace on the gloves are quite old-fashioned-"

"Well, I had to buy gloves to complete the outfit- these were the best in the lot-"

"If I were in your place, my pet, I wouldn't have bought them at all. I'd keep visiting shops until I found exactly what I was looking for-"

"Well, I haven't your unyielding patience." Scarlett smirked and made closer inspection of her gloves. "Besides, I still have to buy more dresses and a bonnet or two. We shall take the carriage and spend the whole day shopping. Now that you're here-"

"I have a better idea" suggested Rhett, arching his arm around her narrow waist and drawing her to him. "I thought we will take Ella and Wade to a lovely pine forest, I know of. We'll be gone for a month and they are sure to miss us. Just to be fair, we might as well spend the day with them. Your shopping can wait- I'll buy you English gowns and you can look like an English lady-"

"But I'd have no use for them here-" Scarlett pondered on his words for a moment. "Well then we'll make it a picnic. I'll ask Betsy to pack us some sandwiches and we can take it in a Aunt Pitty's old wicker basket."

* * *

The spot Rhett had chosen to take them was situated a few miles off the main road leading out of Atlanta town. He guided the buggy down a small trail and tied off the horse near a lonely old tree. Scarlett peeped out and she saw a large meadowy place, sprinkled here and there with an odd variety of trees. Wade manfully tried to lift the wicker basket on his own and tumbled faster down the trail in his haste to get to his destination and finally set the heavy thing down. Rhett led them just past the meadow and they came to a beautiful dark pine forest.

"How enchanting!" gasped Scarlett, tugging off her bonnet and letting it slip down to the blanket spread beneath her feet. She stared entranced by the sight before her. The pine trees were thick and lush and they were so many in number that their pine needles blocked out a good bit of sun. The rays fell intermittent on the grass below giving a rather eerie effect. And there was a small, silent lake just at the center, looking so quaint and picturesque. "Oh Rhett, this place is lovely - however did you find such a marvelous pine grove? And look! There is even a secret covey of trees - the sunlight can hardly get in there and the play of light and shadows seems so enchanting-"

"Do you really like it?"

"I love it. It's so romantic-"

"We shall come here often then- just you and me-"

"How could we do that?"

"I bought this place. I bought it several months ago. I wanted to surprise you!"

"You.. you mean, this place is going to be our home?"

"Yes. I am going to build a simple little house and we are going to have a large farm and you can have your own carriage to ride out to the town or the countryside-"

"Rhett, how wonderful!" Scarlett threw her arms around Rhett's neck and kissed him. When she pulled back, she saw Wade standing a few yards away with an elaborate, rather frightfully-realistic red-Indian headdress in his hands. He gazed sheepishly at Rhett and Rhett caught on the implication at once. He remembered Wade showing him the headdress at Aunt Pitty's house. It was a set which he had pleaded to be bought during his last trip to the shops and Scarlett had consented only because he was recently doing remarkably well in his lessons. The set came with headdresses, bows and arrows, feathers and a large teepee. Wade had watched his Uncle Rhett play Red-Indians with Bonnie and had fondly imagined that he would play with himself and Ella as well. And this set convinced him that Uncle Rhett couldn't possibly refuse to play for they had all the accessories needed for a good time!.

"Wade, you can be the chief's son and Ella can be the chief's daughter-" said Rhett, briskly. "-and I'll be the chief- Chief Pouncing Bear or Hunting Bear-"

"How about Gambling bear?" giggled Scarlett, amusedly.

Rhett threw her a mock cold-gaze. "I shall treat that snide remark with the silence it deserves- Your Mamma can be the annoying White lady who has trespassed into our sacred Indian grounds-"

"Now wait a minute!" cried Scarlett, the merriment still in her eyes. "I am not getting dragged into your silly games-" But Rhett only laughed and pulled her along. "That tree is your campsite."

"And you must come out to pick berries for food" offered Wade, eagerly.

"Berries!" echoed Ella, happily.

"And you have to do it without getting caught!"

"I'd rather be left out of this-" protested Scarlett one last time. She gazed at the expectant faces of Wade and Ella and gave in with a sigh. "I suppose I look the part of a White lady. I'll just spread a blanket by my errr.. campsite.. and wait for you Indians to get your costumes on-"

Rhett, Wade and Ella immediately went to the other end of the grassy meadow and began fitting their headdresses and feathers- Rhett made a paste out of the red earth and some water and he painted Wade, Ella and his own face. "War paint!" he explained. He also showed Wade how to make a tomahawk. They hunted for several minutes for a perfect flat rock and with the help of some rope, they secured it to a stout branch.

"You carry this weapon, son" said Rhett, decorously.

"What is my name, Uncle Rhett?" asked Wade.

"What would you like it to be?"

Wade thought for a moment. "How about "Red Thunder"?"

"Red Thunder- very good. A fine, strong name for a fine, strong lad!"

"And my name?" danced Ella, beside them.

"You can be "Fiesty rabbit"-" said Rhett, throwing an arm about her to fit the feather properly into her hair. "Now let's go catch us a trespasser-"

* * *

Scarlett turned out to be very good at the game. She made two trips to pick her berries and each time made it successfully back to her "campsite" - Her face was flushed and glowing with exertion. It had been so long since she went playing these silly games. She never thought she would see such days after the War. Wade was hardly his quiet, mousy self. He was leaping, somersaulting, twirling that tomahawk dangerously over his head and giving those loud Red-Indian whoops as if he didn't have a care in the world and Ella following him and imitating him in everything.

"Here I come the third time to pick berries!" sounded Scarlett and instantly her children and husband hid themselves behind the trees and bushes. Scarlett quickly memorized where each of them hid and made a circuitous route to the picnic basket. She heard the patter of feet hastening behind her and spying her own campsite just a few yards away, Scarlett made a mad dash for it, laughing out loud that she would make good her third escape. But just as her toes touched the safety blanket, she found herself lifted off her feet and pulled back.

"I believe that we have caught our trespasser!" declared Rhett, triumphantly.

"Hurray, we've caught Mamma!" cried Ella, exhilarated with excitement.

They led her to their Red-Indian grounds.

"What shall we do with the White lady, Pouncing Bear?" asked Wade, gravely.

"This White lady is a pretty one" mused Rhett. "We shall leave the decision up to her. She may consent to be chief Pouncing bear's wife or.. she may choose the consequences-"

"I'd face anything than marry your dirty old chief" declared Scarlett, her green eyes cheekily teasing Rhett.

"Allright" said Rhett, smoothly. He nodded to Wade. "Fetch the tomahawk, Red Thunder. We shall scalp her-"

Scarlett's eyes widened. "Wait a minute. What do you mean "scalp her" - wait.. don't you scrape that dirty rock on my hair-"

"But Mamma that is what the red-Indians did to their captives-" protested Wade, his face falling at once.

Scarlett hesitated. "I..I've changed my mind. I'll marry your dirty old chief-"

"Fetch the paint-", ordered Rhett.

"Paint?" gasped Scarlett. She saw Ella and Wade race to the muddy red paste collected in a dried out shell and grew aghast. "You mean, put that mud on my face?"

"Thunderation,Scarlett- haven't you played Red Indians at all?!" cried Rhett, losing patience. "Look at us. We are all wearing paint!"

Scarlett sourly knelt down and glumly showed her soft, white cheek. Wade dabbed his fingers into the mud and drew a broad red line across her skin. "Me too!" laughed Ella, reaching in to dip her fingers into the mud.

"Turn your other cheek" said Rhett, watching her in vivid amusement.

Scarlett complied none too graciously and promptly received another dab of red mud on her other cheek.

"My skin will be ruined" moaned Scarlett. "If I can't get it off,Rhett Butler, you'll be mighty sorry-"

Before she could get up, much to her chagrin, Rhett had dabbed his fingers and added some extra stripes as well. "Chief Pouncing Bear's wife - Swelling Gobbler-"

"Gobbler, my foot!" cried Scarlett, outraged. "I want to be called something beautiful - like Alameda-"

"I like that name" agreed Wade, brightly.

"Alameda it is" said Rhett. "Oh! Look over there! It's a herd of mountain lions coming towards our camp. We have to defend Alameda. Come on, let's run out and kill them-"

The game went on for another two hours. Scarlett grew tired after an hour but she enjoyed watching her children play with Rhett. They ran circles around the trees and climbed the climbable ones - built a fire and pretended to shoot down quarry with their bows and arrows. Rhett even took turns pretending to be the chief's son and chasing a wild bear- Ella, who got easily excited, ran in full speed, screaming wildly with glee and right into Scarlett's arms for Rhett had told them that the chief's wife would be the safe place- Scarlett looked extremely surprised and touched to find Ella's arms around her waist so tight and realized that the silly war paint and her own disheveled appearance made her seem less intimidating as a parent just then. Both children were becoming openly affectionate towards her and she rather enjoyed it. Perhaps there was something in this after all - this running around and playing silly games. Her children seemed so different and so alive! She wrapped her arms around Ella and gave her an affectionate squeeze. "You're safe with Mamma, darling" she smiled. Her daughter, looking around fearfully for a charging bear or a lion and finding none, pulled away and resumed her game. From a distance Rhett noticed the moment and smiled to himself.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello,everyone! :) Thank you so much for the reviews. They really keep me going. I like writing this story :) Keep reading! :)**

* * *

**Chapter 9**

The ocean voyage to England was marred by incessant rains and choppy seas. And although Rhett hardly turned a hair during the bad weather, Scarlett wasn't quite as lucky. Even after they reached their hotel, she took to her bed a whole day to recover from her sea-sickness. Only on the second day afternoon, she felt brave enough to walk out to their balcony and take in the rugged scenery of the British heather moorlands. Miles of nature's purple carpet unfurled under miles of open blue sky. Scarlett was strangely stimulated by the bewitching beauty of her alien surroundings. She felt small and insignificant somehow in such wild, untamed terrain. After listening to several regaling tales of the nearby forts and manors from her hotelier, Scarlett begged Rhett to take her on the fox hunt he had promised. But Rhett adamantly refused until two days later when he was absolutely sure that she could hold her own on a sturdy moorland pony.

* * *

They returned late at night after an entire day of riding and hunting out in the moors. Scarlett sat at her dresser, vigorously brushing her thick black hair. Her senses were utterly stirred and her mind was consumed by vivid memories of the fox hunt that morning. She shivered when she recalled the crackling gunshot from Rhett's pistol and the wild glitter in his dark eyes. Scarlett had been on fox hunts before. She had seen men on field-hunters, following their packs of hounds in pursuit of the quarry before. It had all been in good fun and no one really took the thing very seriously. Those fox hunts usually ended when the fox went underground. But with Rhett, it was so different. A fox hunt wasn't a game to him. He pursued the fox as if he were a bloodthirsty hound himself! The dry, windy Autumn season, galloping across wide, open flat land, sliding down natural dips and jumping over banks and ditches- Scarlett felt her pulse quickening when she remembered how Rhett had chased down the fox in frenzied pace and accurately timed the exact moment for it to evade the hounds and double-back on its trail. He waited and fired at that fleeting bit of red fur,several impossible yards away and animal collapsed the next second in a clumsy heap! And Scarlett felt her primitive feelings stirred within her. The feeling of gripping life by the teeth and draining every bit of pleasure from it. Until now, she had been so occupied with earning a pile of money for herself that she never noticed that she was letting the years slip by, unhappy and unsatisfied. Now she could experience the raw thrill again and she was seeing a side of Rhett she had hardly paid attention to before.

As she set the comb down and began to plait her hair, Rhett sauntered in wearing a white shirt that was opened down to his chest. Scarlett looked at his reflection in the mirror, marveling at how different he's looked just then. During the fox hunt, he was sweating and straining every muscle, his black locks sweeping untidily across his forehead and his clothes in disarray. Now he had bathed and combed his hair and moved in his lithe Indian gait as if he had changed his guise from a relentless hunter to a tamed, disinterested gentleman. Even the expression of his eyes had changed! They had blazed dangerously before, exhilarated by the thrill of the chase. Now they looked blank and listless. Scarlett wondered if he purposely moved so light-footed as to fool others into thinking that he was incapable of great physical exertion. She studied the shirt he wore just then. She knew that just behind that harmless layer of linen was a daunting, brown body, packed with hard, rippling muscles. And she knew that when Rhett made love to her, she would be pressed against those muscles and that dreaded, sinking feeling would consume her senses once again. Primitive feelings would rise! The raw thrill- A shiver of anticipation ran down her spine and she nearly yelped when she saw Rhett, the object of her current fantasy, approaching her dresser. He hardly seemed to take the slightest notice of the deepening blush on her face or her eyes that were averted guiltily down to the table surface. He stood so close to her that she could hear his heavy breathing. "What is it?" she ventured cautiously, her eyes now transfixed on his arm that moved across her bosom in hairbreadth distance to pick up something on a nearby shelf. "My cigars" replied Rhett, casually. "I was looking everywhere for them-" He turned his head so that his lips were inches away from Scarlett's lips and after fixing his dark eyes on her face for a second or two, he walked back to his side of the bed.

"Don't dab on so much perfume, Scarlett!" he advised off-handedly over his shoulder. "Just a little would suffice, you needn't empty the whole bottle!"

Scarlett grew annoyed. They had spent four nights at the Hotel and while every night had been full of fun and good conversation, Rhett hadn't made even the slightest move to kiss her or even be near her except on the occasions such as this when he absolutely had to. Scarlett wondered why in genuine puzzlement. Even now she looked lovely in her sleeveless nightgown and quite alluring. Why didn't he want to kiss her just then?

Scarlett angrily looked up to see what he was doing and her eyes widened when she caught him staring directly back at her. When she immediately averted her eyes and he broke the awkward silence in deceptive smoothness, "I suppose you are wondering why I haven't yet begun to make violent love to you-"

Scarlett grew alert. She knew this was a baiting question. She would not give him the pleasure of seeing her Irish up. Not tonight. Not any night. "Indeed not" she replied, coolly. "We've only spent four days here in England and we've had such a good time that it hasn't been on my mind at all-"

"Well, you only have yourself to blame for it. You ruined it all with your brute frankness-"

"I what?" echoed Scarlett, in surprise.

"Once you told me how very charming and seductive I was, it doesn't make you a thing of mystery anymore. It has sapped the fun out of everything-"

This was a deliberate slight to her charms!. Rhett was being ridiculous. Absolutely, maddeningly ridiculous! Her, not being a thing of mystery - Why, it was an outright lie meant to befuddle her senses! She opened her mouth in sharp retaliation and found Rhett watching her keenly with that strange cat-at-a-mouse-hole look. It bewildered her before and it bewildered her now. She closed her mouth and swallowed her scorn in poor grace. No, she wouldn't lose her temper. He was purposely making odious statements. If she were smart, she'd ignore them.

But - she couldn't.

Just what did he mean by saying that she wasn't a thing of mystery to him anymore? Scarlett's mind unwillingly went back to that long three-hour conversation she had with Rhett when she had hemmed and hawed and revealed several intimate details about herself. He had seemed kind and understanding then. Why was he being so hateful now?! Had she really made herself plain and familiar in his eyes?

A look of worry crossed Scarlett's face and Rhett instantly read her thoughts broke into soft laughter. His eyes teased her tantalizingly. Well, Scarlett wasn't amused. If he was bent on being contrary, then she would cut him off. "I don't think I want to discuss the subject." she said stiffly. "Where are we going tomorrow, Rhett?"

Rhett laughed louder and approached her. "Come come, Scarlett- don't be mad." he said, in a more sincere tone of voice. He slowly slid his hand over her bare right arm. It was obviously a friendly gesture, yet Scarlett felt oddly stirred. He took her hands in his and continued, kindly, almost tenderly-

"Scarlett, I've been wanting to ask you a question ever since you described that night."

"What is it?" asked Scarlett, coldly.

Rhett hesitated. "Well, you enjoyed my lovemaking, but you must have known that to cause a woman such excitement, I must have picked it off from my illicit relationships with other women. That must have hurt you, musn't it?"

Scarlett looked at Rhett and there was genuine sincerity in his eyes. She softened at once and wondered why she had ever been so put off by his impudence. He was so sweet to bother about this for so long and wait for the right moment to ask her.

"Rhett, whatever has happened before has happened and it can't be changed." she began, with tender love in her eyes. Rhett led her around to his side of the bed. "And I've learned to accept you as you are and I'm sure you have done the same-"

Rhett pulled her towards him such that she was sitting with her back to him and his arms around her waist. "You do have the heart of an angel to be so forgiving-" He put his face into the nape of her neck and inhaled her perfume. The hot breath made her skin crawl excitingly and she giggled with anticipation.

"But as forgiving as you are-" continued Rhett, softly in her ear. "I fear I cannot be so generous towards you. You see, you have been married to two men and you have nothing to show from your marital encounters- You don't seem to know the first thing about attracting a man-"

Scarlett tried to wiggle away but she found his arms tighten about her.

"I attracted Charles and Frank and they married me, didn't they?" she pointed out, her voice shaking.

"Yes, but after that? You didn't seem to do a good job of getting the best out of them-"

"How could I, I didn't love them!"

"But you were fond of them"

"You are trying to devil me and I'm leaving." cried Scarlett, trying to shake off his arms. But he only laughed. "I've changed my mind. Do stay mad, darling- you look absolutely gorgeous!" He grinned and taking a long breath, he blew lightly across her neck. His breath sent chills down her skin. It was as if she was now somehow acutely alert to every light caress and every spoken word- "I forgot you still had your Irish temper. You've been keeping under lock and key that I doubted if you had lost it!"

Scarlett boiled with rage. Rhett ran his fingers under her hair at the nape of her neck and she squirmed at the ticklish feeling. With one arm still about her waist, Rhett undid her plait and leisurely combed her hair with his fingers over one shoulder. Again she felt her skin crawl excitingly and she tried one last time to shake loose his grip. But it was no use. Somehow Rhett had played on her emotions and now she had no power over him. "Do be sensible,Scarlett." he continued, shifting his head to the other side of her neck. His moustache tickled her and she tried to inch away. "I am not teasing you. I do admit that you are intelligent. And while you flirted quite well with so many of your beaus, you have unwittingly revealed that after marriage you are dull and predictable."

"I have never-"

"Well, you've got to do something about it, darling" whispered Rhett, burying his head into her neck and inhaling her perfume once again. "Or I'm going to find you very dull as well!"

"Why, you conceited hound-"

Rhett laughed when he heard the tremble in her voice. Tipping back her chin and he took her mouth in his and gently ran his lower lip across the roof of her red lips. Scarlett grew warm and shaky. He parted her lips once again and she felt his hands loosening around her waist and caressing their way upwards. There was nothing holding her to him now and she could pull away anytime she wanted to. But his kissing was growing so intense and insistent. Before she realized it, he had laid her on his pillow and was preparing to undress her. But at the touch of his fingers about the lace on her neck, she recovered her senses to realize that she had been insulted and nimbly rolled away.

"Dull and predictable, am I?" cried Scarlett, throwing a pillow at his insolent head. "You just wait and see- by the end of this month, I'll have you eating out of my hand! Just you wait and see!"


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

The bright morning sun did little to alleviate Scarlett's foul mood. Rhett had left her at the breakfast table to make arrangements for their tour of the haunted castles across the countryside. At first Scarlett pretended to be very cool to him hoping to make him feel guilty for injuring her vanity. She spoke very little, grabbed at the slightest opportunity to make some belittling remark and remained boorish. But Rhett refused to be enticed into an argument. He said once that he had only stated the truth and that was that. Scarlett could get no apology from him.

Once he left, she finished her scrambled eggs and toast and made her way to the hotel gardens. There were very few guests staying at the hotel and the garden paths were largely vacant. As she strolled down a trail, she recalled the events of last night. Rhett was certainly very different from any man she had ever met. She had once compared him with Ashley - how they both were adults and not boys and how they both eluded her understanding and control. Ashley baffled her because of his mysterious inner world - an impractical world that had long since ceased to exist since the war- and Rhett because of his damned contrariness. But at long last she understood Ashley and having understood him, she lost all the romantic allusions she had attributed to him. His drowsy grey eyes no longer excited her, nor his dignified gait nor his gentle ways. Now Rhett alone seemed wildly incomprehensible. She found her reactions to his love-making incomprehensible as well. Last night, he had unnecessarily harped on some very intimate secrets which she had shared with him months ago, secrets that had been confessed with the hope that they would bring better understanding between them both. Rhett now took her words and wielded it like a whip. How dare he say that she, Scarlett O Hara, didn't know the first thing about attracting a man? The entire statement was ridiculous! And then he slipped in those words about how sorry he was for his illicit relationships with other women. He was so very contrary! Tender and affectionate at one moment, rude and odious the next - whatever was he trying to do to her? And somehow as he kept jabbering on, he managed to put her senses on the alert-

Scarlett stopped in her tracks. A new thought struck her. She was beginning to see a pattern. Whenever Rhett kissed her, she was always a little more alive, a little more alert, a little more receptive-

She recalled his careless boast - that he had a way with women - Now that she thought of it, Rhett had a tall, muscular, powerful form and he always wore the latest suits that were perfectly tailored to fit his physique. He certainly had a strong presence but he very rarely flaunted his physical appearance when he wanted to make love to her. Other men often did. Through their acts of chivalry, other men unconsciously flexed their muscles, twirled their moustaches, coiffed their hair fondling imagining her to be stimulated by their fine physical qualities. But Rhett behaved differently. He placed greater emphasis on his words. Scarlett realized this with a laugh. That was his trick! He contrasted his speech with compliments and insults such that the listener would be put through a riot of emotions. And emotions were a weakness for any woman. No wonder his contrary speech had such a strange effect on her. She would get so stirred that her senses would go on the alert for the slightest deception on his part and then he would take her in his arms and she would be under his power.

No wonder Rhett was a favorite of women everywhere - they despised him, feared him, scorned him but very rarely resisted his charms - even Mrs. Merriweather and Mrs. Meade - he always knew exactly what to say to get any woman interested.

"How very clever!" thought Scarlett, pondering along these lines until she became more and more sure of Rhett's suave ways. "Yes that was it! His ridiculous statements, barbs and quips - all somehow bringing me alive-" She remembered when he had first kissed her hand. His lips had touched the hollow of her palm and then worked their way up to her wrist and she had felt as if she wanted to run her fingers through his hair and feel his lips upon hers. He had aroused her so much so that she was begging for a kiss instead of the other way around! But she confused this with her feelings of love and not with the pointless chatter that took place just before his hand-kissing. Now the point-less chatter seemed not so very pointless at all. Words seemed to put everything into perspective. He made an emotional connection, even if it was an outrageous one and he made love.

"I could try the same-" thought Scarlett, hopefully and then her face fell. She had tried to flatter and coquet him once before and had failed miserably. She had called him "the great blockader" , "noble" and "heroic" but he had laughed outright to her face and called her a coward. He was so very contemptuous of her and women in general that she had ceased to respect him since then or bother herself about him due to his unpredictable ways-

And then there was some truth to Rhett's statement last night. Even when she had loved Ashley, her thoughts never went beyond a kiss or that dream moment in front of the altar when they would share their wedding vows. It had been the same with any man. She fluttered her eyelids, threw gay, dimpled smiles, swayed her hips and walked on her toes until she got the attention of her beaus and had them begging her for a kiss. But she had never thought of what she would do beyond giving a kiss. She assumed that marriage and her husband would take care of that!

Scarlett heard her name being called and looked up from her pensive thoughts.

Rhett stood at the crest of the hill, beckoning her to their carriage and as she double-backed on her trail, she decided firmly that whether she was going to beat Rhett at his game or not, she certainly wasn't going to listen- especially when he went out of his way to annoy and confuse her.

* * *

They spent all afternoon roaming the gray stone halls of the most haunted castle in the countryside. Rhett had already been there once before so he knew his way around and took Scarlett with him. The castle bore the tale of a deranged lord who buried his youthful mistress alive within the walls. Her ghost came back to haunt him, making him jump down the stairwell and break his neck. Since then, anyone who stayed at the castle suddenly heard bricks shaking loose in the night. And once when someone came to check up on the noise, they found a brick or two fallen on the ground and an object that looked like a skeleton's hand, reaching out, as if the mistress was trying to claw her way back to the world!

"Oh,Rhett, don't!" cried Scarlett, fancying that she heard the noise of loose bricks just then. She jumped when she heard an odd thud from the next room. "Saints preserve us, what was that?"

"That is probably the lord jumping once again from the stairwell. They say a blood stain appears fresh every single day. I'll show you." Rhett laughed. "There's nothing to be afraid of, honey. The first time I came here, I was alone with the caretaker and it was raining cats and dogs outside. It was all very thrilling!"

"_You_ would find it thrilling!"

"And I distinctly heard the rumble of bricks-"

As he said the words, a strange rumbling sound resounded through the halls. Scarlett's eyes went round with fright and when she turned, she caught a dark figure, hovering a few feet over the floorboards and sailing past the corridor. She dug her nails into Rhett's arm, too white and frightened to scream. Rhett gazed after the apparition, almost gratified to witness such a spectacle.

* * *

The ghosts weren't the only attractions in the castle. It was an ancient place handed down from generation to generation - once even kings lived there. So, it had a lot of history. And it was expressed in woven tapestries and paintings which adorned the upper halls. As they toured these halls, Rhett began to relate the story behind any unusual tapestry or artwork and somehow connected it with their own country's culture. Scarlett realized that he was actually giving her a history lesson but he had an odd way of telling his stories. He mixed a good deal of humor and obscenity into it that it was impossible to listen without getting interested. He talked at length on architecture and art. Again, mixing his words with strange anecdotes and quotations.

"You know I've always hated history." said Scarlett, in genuine admiration. "But you make it seem so very interesting!"

"That is because,my poor child, your teachers taught you history lessons but didn't explain the evil behind why men did what they did- Evil always makes things very interesting. My father prided himself on his knowledge of history. But I could always tell a story better than him because I delved into the crass intentions behind every war and every feud - I explained it from that perspective that he would get infuriated. He would try to paint the historical scenes as something noble and I would do just the opposite-"

"You have a different perspective on anything-" said Scarlett, casually. "When I first heard of you from Cathleen Calvert, she told me how you took that Charleston girl out riding in the evening without a chaperone and how the carriage broke and you had to bring her home by walk and after that, you refused to marry her. I respected you for your decision. I thought- why should you marry a girl when you thought that she was such a fool?"

Rhett paused his speech and stared at her. He stared at her for a long time. Scarlett couldn't discern the look in his eyes. He suddenly took a deep thoughtful breath and said gravely, "So, you think what I did was right?"

Scarlett seemed nonplussed at this question. "Yes. Why should you marry her? Just because you were with her after dark doesn't mean you would have compromised her- that's a foolish reason to get married!"

"And what about when I shot her brother?"

"Well, you are a fine shot,Rhett and her brother deserved it. He should have used his brain and not listened to Charleston's ramblings about honor and duty-" Scarlett paused and blinked. "Didn't you know that you were right?"

Rhett shrugged naively. "I knew I was right but this is the first time I've heard another person say it-"

Scarlett considered his words and realized they were true. She had thought many things about Rhett but she had never actually told him anything much. She always assumed he didn't deserve any kind words because of his reputation and his open contempt for others.

"My father was furious that night-" said Rhett, recalling the incident. "He drove me out of the house."

"Well, I would have done the same in his place. My goodness, what a handful, you must have been." retaliated Scarlett, spiritedly. She remembered her own headaches with Ella during that awful day at the Commercial Market street. "It isn't as if all his chastisements had an effect on you. It isn't as if you tried to live up to his expectations of a saintly life! You defied his orders and enjoyed yourself as best as possible- a nightmare of a son for an old-school gentleman like him! He must have had such fine ambitions for you where you could live poorly with honor and there you were gambling your time away and getting rich! He should have twisted your ear and whomped you hard on your bottom for all the trouble you gave him!"

Scarlett said the words indifferently but they produced a remarkable effect on Rhett. He blushed - he actually blushed and grinned warmly as if he enjoyed her teasing. "I drove my father absolutely wild with anger!" he laughed, relishing the memory of his early days. "He could never win an argument with me!"

"Then why do you act so injured and hurting, my sweet hypocrite?" nudged Scarlett, her eyes twinkling with glee. She was genuinely surprised by his diffident reaction. "It isn't as if you repented from your ways!"

Rhett beamed at her and putting an arm around her shoulders, he gave her a tight squeeze. Scarlett gazed at him, surprised once again by how differently he reacted to her jibes. He seemed to take it as a sign of affection. How very strange indeed!


	11. Chapter 11

The night fell quickly across the desolated moorlands. The carriage ambled slowly along the dark paths and each deepening shadow seemed like a angry specter waiting to pounce on the wary travelers. Scarlett settled back into her seat and winced lightly at the pain in her soles of her feet. She had walked long strides down the Castle corridors in her three inch heels and although the time had gone by splendidly, now that she was back in the carriage, all she really wanted to do was to pull off her dreadful shoes and give herself a warm foot rub. Rhett saw her eyes wander wistfully at the tight lacings on her shoes and laughed lightly to himself. "You used to dance gracefully all night in those satin heels and never voice a single word of complaint. Age must be catching up at last!."

Scarlett frowned at this. "You seem to hint as if I were the one reaching forty seven and not you!" she responded smartly."I bet your feet ache even more in those hard leather boots."

Rhett promptly reached down and slid off his boots. He threw them under the seat and stretched out his legs comfortably. Scarlett gazed at him half-jealous and half-angry at his apparent ease with everything she said. She diverted her eyes to the window.

"Why don't you follow my fine example and remove your boots as well, my pet?"

"And make a silly spectacle of myself like you? No thank you." shot back Scarlett, coolly.

Rhett remained silent for a moment or two. Then tipping his hat over his eyes, he leaned back as if to sleep and began to whistle "Bonnie Blue Flag". Immediately Scarlett's face reddened for she remembered that awful memory of herself singing drunkenly in an open carriage. The very same tune, all the way back to the hotel during their honeymoon in New Orleans.

After a short while, Rhett heard two soft thuds on the carriage floor and raising his hat, he found Scarlett discarding her boots and pulling up her ankles to rub her feet. She tried to glower at him, but the merriment in Rhett's black eyes was contagious. She gave a laugh and Rhett began to laugh as well.

"To be perfectly honest", said Rhett. "I was quite surprised that you didn't find this wild countryside dull and devoid of fun. No complaints of missing balls and parties, no desires to go shopping for finery-"

"I told you I didn't really like all those things"

"Yes but they are a lot of fun, aren't they?"

Scarlett's eyes grew soft and warm when she remembered all the balls she used to attend. All the reels she used to lead. "Oh yes, Rhett!", she exclaimed, a note of excitement creeping into her tone. "Dancing was one of the first things I learnt - better than history or language. Men never look at a girl with her nose stuck in a novel. They'd rather dance and dance with a pretty girl who gave just the right compliments and smiled at them ever so sweetly-"

Rhett studied her exuberance with a half-mocking smile. "You haven't lost your touch. When we travel to the main town tomorrow, I'll make sure you attend a ball or two just to keep your hand in. A delicately nurtured Southern belle shouldn't be kept out of society for too long!"

"You don't seem to mind if people praise you or speak ill of you. I never could understand it before and I don't understand it now. And although I did act as if the opinions of other people didn't matter, I did like feeling appreciated. All my beaus keep giving such wild compliments- you don't know what it does to a girl like me."

"I know exactly what it does to you." interrupted Rhett, quickly. "It makes you uppity. So much so that you think no man is too far from the clawing reaches of your charms."

"Must we talk of these things?"

"We needn't have to. But this approval-seeking nature of yours- I suppose this is the driving force behind your grand plans of restoring Tara back to its formal splendor?"

This sharp turn in conversation caught Scarlett unawares. She hesitated for a moment and Rhett softly whispered, "I see."

"Well, think of how much Suellen and Will would like the farm to be prosperous and flourishing once again with more than fifteen bales of cotton and how much happier everyone- Father's friends and neighbors would be to see it restored. They'd speak well of me again!"

Rhett laughed outright at this. "Still as absurd as ever with your hypocritical views."

"You forget,sir, I'm not the only hypocrite here." replied Scarlett, hotly. She searched her mind fervently for when Rhett had said and done entirely different things. Finally in a flash of inspiration, she cried, "You claimed ever so often that you despised Ashley Wilkes. But you saved him during the crossfire. Isn't that hypocrisy?"

Rhett stopped laughing and a faint gleam came into his eyes. "Why do you drag Ashley Wilkes into this?"

"I..I couldn't think of anything else. You laugh at me for fishing for compliments but you are the same as well. You needn't have had to be so heroic. Especially when you hated Ashley and Frank so much. You needn't have to put your own life in danger to rescue the very men you hated."

"I didn't do it to seek their approval" said Rhett, in a more somber tone. He gazed evenly at Scarlett. He hesitated. "You wouldn't understand" he said at last.

Scarlett lost interest in the conversation. She began to concentrate on rubbing her sore feet once again.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Scarlett spent the next week in one of the most bustling towns in England. By the end of the week, she was to attend a ball. Rhett stayed true to his word on not keeping his charming wife away from society for too long. Scarlett began to look forward to the evening of the ball. She reminded Rhett that he was yet to buy her a new dress and they set off that morning to the best dress shops to pick out a suitable gown. As they walked across the street, Rhett lazily pointed out the jewelers where he had ordered her ostentatious four carat diamond ring.

The day of the ball arrived and the host and hostess were good friends of Rhett's. Scarlett felt especially beautiful when she tried on the new jade necklace with a pearl centerpiece that Rhett had generously bought for her. It complimented her green eyes and made her look lovely. She found it a little difficult to walk pigeon-toed on her extremely full, heavily embroidered English gown but as the evening wore on, such difficulties vanished at the prospect of meeting new friends. The English men introduced to Scarlett were all dressed like dandies, looking extremely handsome in their three-piece suits, embroidered vests and unbuttoned coats which cut right above their waists. Scarlett had heard stories of the hot and heavy English wigs and she had waited eagerly to see them but apparently wearing wigs was not the trend now. Instead the men wore their hair shorter and looked self-assured and elegant. She laughed gaily and lavished compliments on her listeners. Rhett watched her amused. When the band began to play, Scarlett found a string of men beside her, requesting her for a dance. She turned her merry eyes to Rhett and found him standing a few paces away in deep conversation with an old friend. She turned back and started to make her reply when she stared deeply for the first time into the face of the man standing closest to her.

He was a pure bred Englishman, tall and good-looking with thick blond hair neatly coiffed. But as Scarlett looked into his eyes, something struck a chord in her. She hesitated and after mumbling a few apologies, she withdrew to a solitary spot in the ballroom.

The dance began and soon there were several twirling figures gliding gracefully across the marbled floor. Scarlett vaguely observed the fashions of the young English ladies when suddenly she sensed Rhett's presence beside her.

"Why aren't you dancing?" he questioned, peering into her face in genuine curiosity. "You've won the admiration of many a man in this hall so surely you cannot be in want of a partner-"

Scarlett took another look at the brightly lit oval hall filled with elegant gentlemen and ladies and the splendid music filled her ears. There was a puzzled look in her eyes which even Rhett couldn't comprehend and oddly enough, neither could she. After studying her expression for a moment or two, Rhett wordlessly linked his arm in hers and led her to the nearest window. Scarlett looked up into his dark eyes and smiled sheepishly. "I.. I know I seemed awfully excited all morning and now that I've got on this new dress, I really should enjoy myself."

"So why don't you?" inquired Rhett, kindly.

Scarlett hesitated. The look of puzzlement came into her eyes once again. She leaned her head towards Rhett in a conspiratorial manner. "Look at those men. Every one of them - so polite and well-groomed, so chivalrous and gentlemanly- They.. they all look-"

"Yes?" pressed Rhett, knitting his dark eyebrows together and bending his head down just a little to catch her words over the music.

Scarlett shrugged helplessly. She sighed in confusion. "Well, they all look or rather resemble Ashley Wilkes- Oh, I don't mean, I am taken up by them. It's just that I put Ashley up on a pedestal once and I created an illusion around him when he really was quite different. And once the illusion has faded away, I.. I couldn't feel the same way as I used to- I..I couldn't. And I know that these men are English and that they might be very different from Ashley Wilkes but one never knows what lies behind their gentle eyes and quiet smiles-" She broke away and stared dispassionately at the dancing figures.

Suddenly she felt Rhett's hand on her cheek and as she turned her face, he kissed her. It was a gentle kiss and it lasted only a moment or two for Scarlett pulled back startled, her cheeks turning pink with surprise mingled with embarrassment. People simply weren't so forward in ball rooms unless they wanted to be the objects of gossip. She looked up and saw Rhett smiling at her.

"Rhett!" she yelped, her green eyes darting about to note if they had caught anybody's unwanted attention. But they were quite safe in the secluded spot by the window and had escaped observation. Scarlett looked up and saw that Rhett was still smiling at her. She returned a wary smile puzzled now by his impudence. "I wish you wouldn't act so impulsive. Honestly you've gotten so contrary that I can't even guess what your kisses mean-"

"I kissed you now because I was proud of you."

"Oh!" Scarlett's eyes widened. "Why ever for?"

"You are displaying signs of wisdom after your disillusionment with Ashley and its a heartening sight to see."

"You mean my not dancing with the other men-"

"Darling, you can dance with any man in this room, how many ever times you want and I wouldn't resent one moment of it. But those words you said about never knowing what lies behind their eyes and smiles.. those are words of wisdom and I'm proud to hear you say them." His eyes wandered to her lips. "In fact,I could kiss you again-"

Scarlett thought for a moment but she couldn't resist the tender affection in his eyes. She unfurled her green feather fan and held it up so that her upturned face would go unnoticed by the dancing crowd. Her eyes closed as Rhett leaned in to kiss her again.

Once the waltz began, Rhett led her out to dance and together they were the most graceful dancers of the ball.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

The hotel where Rhett and Scarlett stayed never seemed to lessen its activities for the night. The dining area was always open, the orchestra was always entertaining and half the hotel staff bustled about their duties as if it were broad daylight. The Butlers arrived a little after one and Scarlett was surprised and pleased to note that all the gaslights were turned on and the hotel was as gay as ever.

Scarlett climbed up the stairs and unlocked the door to their suite. She began to undress and then painstakingly undid the braids and combed out the ringlets in her hair. Just as she got into bed, she saw the door open a few inches and she could hear Rhett talking to someone outside. Then a few seconds later, Rhett walked through the door with a small covered tray in his hands, some glasses and a bottle of wine. Although he purposely wore a deadpanned look on his face, Scarlett grew excited. She sat up eagerly.

"Oh Rhett, what is it? Is it pudding? chocolate?"

Rhett sat down beside her and decorously lifted the lid.

Scarlett frowned for she couldn't recognize the dessert. "What is it?" she asked, sniffing it to catch the flavor. She reached for the spoon but Rhett's hands closed around it first. He scooped out a dollop. "Open your mouth."

Scarlett took in mouthful and hastily swallowed in surprise. "It's cold!" she gasped, in utter bewilderment. Rhett laughed at her reaction.

"Did you like it?"

"Yes. But, what is it?"

"They call it iced-cream. You've never had it before?"

"No. Never."

Rhett scooped out another spoonful. Scarlett leaned from her covers eagerly.

"Oh, don't scoop out so much, Rhett. I'd like to taste the sweetness before I gulp it down! My mouth was nearly frozen the last time. My goodness, what will they think of next?"

"Iced-creams are getting to be quite famous in our own confectionary shops. They come in fruit flavors. I've had them before but English iced-creams seem to be more rich and creamy compared to ours." Rhett pushed the tray onto Scarlett's lap. "Now finish it up like a good girl while I get undressed."

"Don't you want some?" inquired Scarlett, immediately.

"How very generous of you, Mrs. Butler!" grinned Rhett, taking a spoonful from her. "Especially where your sweet tooth is concerned."

As they sat together, relishing the iced-cream, laughing and taking turns with the spoon, Scarlett wondered aloud,

"Oh Rhett, why couldn't we have stayed like this? We wasted so many years fighting and giving each other the cold shoulder-"

"We wouldn't have done things differently if we had to do them all over again. To be perfectly honest , my pet, just as you grew disillusioned with Ashley, I grew disillusioned with you. It was only when I heard of your Mother's affair that I realized that perhaps I had been unrealistic in my expectations after all. And now that I am back, I know now, more than ever, that you and I are not indeed exactly alike. And my expectations have reduced accordingly-"

"What expectations?", cried Scarlett, surprised. Her eyes began to glitter with comprehension. "Is that why you kept looking at me with such bitter impatience? I've asked you before but you always laughed at me for wondering-"

Rhett shrugged lightly and took the tray from her lap and set it on a nearby desk. When he came towards her again, he had an enigmatic smile on his face.

"Rhett, won't you tell me? For Heaven's sake, I can't read your mind!"

Rhett sat down beside her and leaned her back into her pillows. He gazed at her keenly for a moment and then put out a hand and combed his fingers from her forehead into her thick black hair. This relaxing motion made Scarlett feel drowsy and at peace with the world. The room was lighted by a single gaslight and the air was so warm and comfortable. And here was Rhett being extremely gentle and kind- ever since that remark she made at the ball. Goodness, she must have done something right to merit all this good behavior!

"If you keep doing that, I might fall asleep" hinted Scarlett, with a playful giggle. Her cheeks dimpled and she looked lovely from within the mass of black curls framing her face.

"If you fall asleep, I'll kiss you awake.", returned Rhett, in equal playfulness.

"Do be serious and tell me what you expected of me when we first got married?" wheedled Scarlett, assuming an expression of disarming innocence. More than ever, she wanted a straight-forward answer from Rhett about what he thought of her, apart from the fact that he was with her still. It would help her ever so much to make him fall madly in love with her again. Clearly her declaration of love had never been enough! She could hardly keep her patience because she knew she was about to get her answer. At long last!

Before she understood that Rhett loved her, the world had seemed so different. There was money to be earned, Ashley's love to be won, mills to be run. But ever since the day Rhett left her for Charleston, even money didn't seem to matter anymore. Rhett was her soul and she would do everything to make herself appealing to him once again. She thoughtfully added just to encourage him, "I honestly thought that you married me because you couldn't have me any other way and everything had been an ironic joke to you."

There was a look of speculation in Rhett's eyes. His hand caressed the side of her face and he chuckled softly. "You aren't the most beautiful among women, my love, but you certainly know how to make your face as sweet and bland as a baby's when you set your mind upon getting something."

"Oh, don't tease me so."

"Well, we had some wonderful times, didn't we? I enjoyed every moment with you during our honeymoon in New Orleans. I loved dancing with you, watching you gorge yourself over pastries and delicacies, hearing you sing high-pitched and off-tune in your drunken stupor, telling stories of my blockading days, watching your green eyes gleam when you allowed me to purchase those low-cut dresses with defining waistlines-"

"No other couple could have enjoyed themselves on their honeymoon as much as we did." agreed Scarlett, casting her mind, back to the early days of her marriage to Rhett. Those had been some of the most happiest days of her life!

"I couldn't have had those moments with anyone other than you, dear heart." Rhett kissed her warmly. His breath was hot upon her face. "You enjoyed yourself like a child and I could be as playful around you as I wanted to be. Those were the best moments of our lives. I could endure your childish rages, your tantrums, your meagre attempts at masking the truth to get some money out of me- I endured it because I thought, if Scarlett O Hara could hate and scheme with such a passion, then she could love with a passion as well. I now realize that I had attempted something that wasn't possible for any man to do. To marry a frightened, bull-headed child, love and spoil her, and expect fervently that love would change her into a woman-

Scarlett frowned at this.

"Is that why you kept hinting at Melanie and my own Mother? You said their natures hardly made an impact on me. Did you mean them to?"

"Why not, my girl?"

"But.. but Melly was so utterly boring and slow! My word, you are certainly turning old fashioned!"

"I told you I was starting to miss the slow charm of the old days." He laughed carelessly. "Perhaps I am turning too sentimental in my old age-"

Scarlett imagined herself in a dowdy old dress, her hair combed tightly to her head and tied up in a flat, ugly bun. She imagined herself walking in black or gray taffeta, looking matronly and grave. The look of distaste forming on her face made Rhett laugh. He fondly kissed her once again. "You always take things so literally, Scarlett!. You are a constant joy to me! I didn't mean for you to copy Miss. Melly. For heaven's sake, no! But you do have to find your own way of being more of a woman- I don't mean it in terms of making money or being a social butterfly." He looked at her quizzically. "You get my point, don't you?"

"Oh, but I do know how to make love to you with such passion as you seem to expect,Rhett. I-" Scarlett spiritedly pulled herself up. Ever since, Rhett's taunt that she didn't know the first thing about attracting a man, she'd often imagined this opportunity when she could let go of every impulse and confirm her love in such a decisive way that she would squelch all of Rhett's barbs forever! She curled up on her knees, encircled her arms about Rhett's shoulders and pulled him in for a long kiss. Her eyes closed and she tried to lose herself to the thrill of the moment. But as her lips moved slowly across his, somewhere in the recesses of her mind, there was a distinct hint of discord. He wasn't following her lead with kisses of his own. When she pulled back, he just sat there, a genuine smile on his face. But nothing more. No clawing desires, no heavy breathing. Nothing.

Scarlett looked completely baffled. Then she looked hurt. Why wasn't he taken up by her kiss? Perhaps, she hadn't kissed him right. Perhaps she should try again.

Scarlett, preoccupied with these thoughts, fumbled about the buttons on Rhett's shirt, determined to extract some kind of emotion. Suddenly the image of Rhett making love to her so many times came into her mind. He had been very forward and very sure of himself. He held her as if he owned her. That surety alone gave birth to so many emotions during his love-making. And he had spoken so many strong words of desire. He kept her completely engaged.

"But if he is expecting the same depth of feeling from me- The same words, tinged with emotional intensity-" Scarlett faltered feeling suddenly overwhelmed. For some strange reason, she couldn't generate those feelings!.

It wouldn't be natural, she told herself. And what's more - Rhett would know it.

She bit her lip and peered uncertainly, reluctantly into Rhett's face. From the look his dark eyes, she realized that he'd already guessed it.

Rhett gently took her hands in his. The look of "I told you so" was clear upon his face. But he was kind enough to hold his peace.

"Rhett, I do love you-" began Scarlett, feeling upset and dismayed by her own incapacity to throw herself into wild romance. For some strange reason, she felt afraid. Part of her wanted to scream, "Great balls of fire, it's only Rhett. The man I've been married to for seven years now. Why all this ridiculous timidity?!" And the other part of her seemed to whisper words of caution, "What would Rhett say if I took as much liberties as he had done with me? What if he only found me amusing and childish? Is so much feeling really necessary?"

"I believe you." replied Rhett, softly, interrupting her thoughts. He smiled genially and began to undress for the night. Scarlett watched him, puzzling over her own lack of attachment and wondering why. She did love him. Of course, she did! More than anyone else in the world! But she just couldn't show it convincingly enough.

When Rhett finally settled down beside her, he drew her to himself and lifted her chin upwards. "Now give me a smile and let us talk of other things. I am taking you to see the British mills tomorrow and I expect you to make the most of our trip. Hopefully it should be an eye-opening experience for a sharp business woman like you!"

Scarlett, seeing there was nothing else to do but look forward to the morrow, finally acquiesced to a watery smile. Then a thought struck her.

"Rhett, tell me stories of your days as a West Pointer. Is that where you learnt so much about history and science?"

Rhett laughed at this unexpected request. "I've told you such stories before."

"Tell them to me again."

As Rhett related stores of his teen-hood years at West Point, Scarlett's imagination came alive. His words carried more significance to her now, for she loved him. And as the night wore on, something of respect began forming in her heart as well.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

The next day afternoon found Scarlett peering in wonder through the carriage windows at some of the tallest buildings she had ever seen in her life. The town was called Manchester and Rhett informed her that she was looking at some of the oldest cotton mills in the land. But they were now only relics of ages past and have been relocated in order to be closer to the rivers. They rode for hours together until Rhett ordered the carriage to a halt just outside one of the extremely large mills. He helped Scarlett out and quipped,

"Aren't you glad I made you wear more serviceable shoes and clothes for this particular trip? I assure you that by the end of the day, you will be more than grateful to me for suggesting such repairs to your attire."

* * *

Rhett had a close friend who was a factory inspector for a section of the large textile mill and he was kind enough to show them around. Rhett noted with some amusement that Scarlett walked through the noisy halls of the mill with greater reverence than when he accompanied her to some of the oldest Catholic churches in Charleston! The loud clacking din of the countless power looms forced the eager visitors to shout at the tops of their voices to make themselves heard. They stood on the highest platforms that seemed to encircle the large well-lighted pit below. Scarlett felt dizzy at the height and wondered anxiously if the rusted mesh flooring under their feet might give way, plummeting them to the hard floor below. She clutched onto the railings, half-frightened and half-drunk with ecstasy upon seeing such larger-than-life sights. "And Rhett has seen these places years ago! What a small, tidy world I've lived in!" she thought, staring at Rhett Butler with a pang of envy. Below her feet, workers swarmed about their tasks like the busy bees of Tara.

The mill had rooms for everything. In one such room, they found such enormous bales of cotton. Scarlett thought she would faint at such a sight for one bale seemed to combine the thirteen bales of cotton that Tara could produce. From these, the workers went on to make weft threads. She put her mouth close to Rhett's ear and yelled to make herself heard.

"Why does England want so much cotton,Rhett?"

"Welll, at first there was a large popularity for woolen fabric. But over the years, cotton has proven to be more washable and maintainable. Besides, it can be combined with other materials like silk and the dye prints are clearer in cotton. There's a large demand for calico and chintz dresses amongst the lower working class of England and you know what a good market they've made during the Industrial Revolution-"

Scarlett blinked at this for she had no idea what the rest of the world had been up to when she had grown up in Tara as a delicately nurtured Southern Belle. But not wanting to be called an ignoramus, she hastily nodded her head and diverted her eyes to the bales. She felt Rhett's hand on her arm. He bent down and spoke in a similar fashion, "I'll try and take you to the Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace at Hyde Park. Its a trade exhibition for cotton dresses. A most marvelous place and it should thrill you to no end. There are more fabrics and designs there than you've ever seen in your life!"

* * *

As the day wore out, Scarlett could understand why Rhett had played such a trick by hiding his cotton in storehouses until the cotton prices soared high in England during the American Civil War. It made a lot of sense. And she felt he was very clever and resourceful for making the best use of the opportunity.

* * *

They made their way out of the main mill to the dyeing section and Scarlett fell in love seeing the scores of laborers meticulously making wood prints and dye prints and creating such lovely designs! Rolls of printed fabric wound continuously in heavy rollers, ready to be shipped off to different countries and dressmakers everywhere. Some of the designs were spectacular and seemed to be a high favorite of the upper class British families.

"Not all are dress materials, Scarlett" drawled Rhett, pleased with her vibrant interest. "Some of these fabrics make for furnishings at the mansions and manors of merry old England-"

"My goodness, I never knew- and until now I've been heartily complaining of my old calico dresses. Why, cotton with silk looks just as pretty."

Rhett's friend introduced Scarlett to some of the women factory managers working in the mill. Scarlett seemed diffident at first for she rarely trusted other women. But these women were unlike any of the Atlanta ladies. They seemed to wear heavy fabrics and beaked hats, disguising their figures and walked as briskly as men. They carried diaries and made occasional jottings, most of them mathematical figures and kept a close watch on the laborers. "Most of them are unskilled in order to keep the wages low. So, they must be constantly supervised in case they make mistakes. " explained one woman. Scarlett met many such women that day. They were all tight-lipped and very businesslike. She found she liked them very much for that was the way she herself had operated her darling sawmills. Suddenly she didn't feel so lonely and heartless anymore. These women seemed just as machine-like and precise. They supervised the work, demanded accounting of time, money and power, scolded the workers who were idle, shifted jobs around according to the skill level. And most of all they got huge loads of work done in ten hours factory time! Scarlett inhaled a deep breath and wondered how her life would have been if she had been born during the Industrial Revolution. There were no men here fussing about what a lady should do or shouldn't do. The women were free and encouraged to pursue these activities. When she rejoined Rhett at the main hall, she beamed with gratitude for opening her eyes to this broad-minded world.

* * *

The factory siren sounded and the day was drawing to an end. Scarlett, tired and weary from her long walk, wondered if they should leave now for the carriage. But Rhett tarried a little longer at the gates for he wanted her to witness an important sight. As she leaned on the wooden gate and peered through the dimming sunlight, she saw thousands of the mill workers shuffle out through narrow gates to their homes.

"Look at them,Scarlett. Look at their bodies, bent and staggering from the work-"

"Well, they must get handsomely paid, mustn't they?"

"I don't think so. Look!" Rhett pointed to a row of little children being huddled out. "Children are banned from factories by the severe Acts passed in England but we still see them in these old mills, unchecked by the meager factory inspectors." Rhett's eyes held a far-away look as he gazed at the weary children, sagging onto the shoulders of their equally fatigued parents. "They come from the surrounding villages - families together, just to earn their living. White slaves!"

"They aren't slaves!" scorned Scarlett, at once. "only blacks have been slaves and they've been set free thanks to the war!"

"As long as there are factories, there will be slaves. Look Scarlett, things aren't always black and white. There are somethings you just understand. You turned a deaf ear when Johnnie Gallager mistreated those convicts, didn't you?"

"Well,I-"

"You think you are the only one to do it. Well, you are wrong! Its quite the norm here. I wouldn't be surprised if the management hushed up matters if a little child fell down into the recesses of a machine while cleaning it and died in the process. I heard gruesome tales before."

"Oh Rhett, how terrible!" gasped Scarlett, staring with sudden pang of conscience at the group of ragamuffin children. One or two of the sportive ones approached the Butlers with their palms outstretched for coins. "Rhett, quick! Give me a shinplaster-"

"They call them pennies here." Scarlett felt odd handing out coins to white children. Rhett rushed her along to the carriage. "We don't want the entire child population after us as I've ran out of pennies."

"Do you mean to tell me that these children spend all this time cleaning those large machines?"

"That and other odd jobs. You did see the oil stains on their clothes,didn't you?"

"But..but that's inhuman. Oh dear, I wish something could be done about it."

"I wish too. Unfortunately you and I do not control the government. But there is something you can do about it,Scarlett-" Rhett turned to Scarlett with serious eyes. "When you set out on your share-cropping schemes, you can show a little conscience when you deal with the blacks. It wouldn't fetch you a profit but when you do so, you'll learn something about yourself and about others."


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

The Butlers were back from England, a month and a week later.

Rhett gave in due to Scarlett's insistence that they must linger at Aunt Pitty's for a day or two to drop off a few presents to old friends. Wade and Ella had left for Tara with Uncle Peter, Wade to attend his school and Ella to keep company for Susie. Actually, Scarlett was extremely keen on extracting the latest gossip about Mr. Westley and his plantation schemes.

What better source than the old cats at Atlanta?

But the unthinkable happened. She left Rhett with Aunt Pitty at the parlor room for only an hour or so to take a hot bath, never dreaming that her Aunt was bursting with the latest news about Ashley Wilkes rather than Mr. Westley himself!

Upon catching bits of her Aunt's excited squawking, Scarlett re-entered the parlour room with a look of utter dismay.

"I was just telling Captain Butler, Scarlett, about how right we were with our guesses that Ashley Wilkes would turn over Twelve Oaks to Mr. Westley!. I heard the news on the fourteenth , two days after you had left for England, but I suspect the news was at least two days old. Mr. Westley is planning to release his horde of hired blacks on the farms and it is speculated that he will have the place up and running by the end of three months!." Aunt Pitty prattled into further details and Scarlett wished she could strangle at the expression on Rhett Butler's face. He looked absolutely piratical, his eyes flickering dangerously over his steaming cup of coffee upon hearing of the rising fortunes of Ashley Wilkes.

"Miss. Jane Westley has been to see Twelve Oaks in a carriage of her own-" informed Aunt Pitty, blissfully unaware of the tumult of emotions her words were evoking. "One wonders what possible business a young woman should have in a dilapidated cotton plantation. It must only mean that she harbors feelings for Mr. Wilkes. Well, I find it all quite exciting, don't you? Especially when we have given away dear India in this very house. Captain butler, you must see their wedding picture. Its a lovely one. I had it framed and put on the top shelf. I'm sure Ashley Wilkes will bring his sweetheart to our home very soon and we can heard the good news terrectly from them!" She beamed from Rhett to Scarlett and then looked concerned. "What's the matter, Scarlett dear? You look pale-"

"Yes, she does look pale." confirmed Rhett, his voice poisonously sweet. "It must be the sea voyage. Come sit down by me, darling and we'll have a nice chat about the recovering fortunes of Mr. Wilkes. Aunt Pitty, perhaps a cup of coffee for poor Scarlett. If you would be so kind-"

"Why, of course! I'll ask Milly to put the kettle on right away-"

Aunt Pitty sailed out of the parlor as Scarlett warily found her seat beside Rhett. He chuckled softly.

"So, this was why you wanted to forgo our lovely second honeymoon and work on your sharecropping schemes right away. My charming deceiver, why couldn't you have played straight with me? I thought I had to ask around to find out what was on my pretty wife's mind and lo and behold, I have my answer handed out to me on a platter by your tongue-wagging Aunt!"

Scarlett opened her mouth to speak but Rhett waved a careless hand to silence her. His voice turned hard and final. "Let me save you the trouble. No more dreams of sharecropping and leasing out Tara for you. I risked my money on you before and I saw the fine flower of your obstinate ways. I will not make the same mistake again. You shall have money out of me to start a small business- nothing more. And if I get any arguments out of you, I'll withhold even that!"

"Oh Rhett, how can you be so cruel?!" cried Scarlett, her face twisting in vehement protest. She had been looking forward to her tete-a-tete with Mr. Westley for weeks now. And to have all her hopes dashed so abruptly- Oh, how could Rhett do this to her?! She swallowed her desperation and reluctantly subsided to a ghost of a smile. "Darling, I know I should have been honest when you asked me.. but really, I didn't think it mattered. After all we've said to each other, surely you don't think that I am hot-footing after Ashley, do you?"

It was a feeble attempt to illicit some consternation on Rhett's part but he refused to take up the gauntlet. Rhett leaned back in his chair and surveyed her with an impassive almost brutal glance. Scarlett used his silence to deploy another form of attack.

"You know how much Tara means to me. Father was shattered when Suellen tried to trick him into taking the Iron Clad Oath just to profit on Tara. Poor Pa, he died of a broken heart-"

"More to the point, a broken neck."

"You know how much he loved Tara. It meant everything to him. He was such a proud man, Rhett. And.. I want to restore it in his memory. Its a fine plantation - even more so than Twelve Oaks."

"It wouldn't do for the Wilkeses to come up in society when Tara is left desolate and poor." Rhett drawled on in his deceptively smooth voice. "What would the neighbors say? What would the gentle folk say?" His eyes widened in mock horror and he put a hand to his chest. "I could guess what they would say, "Could it be that after our bull-headed Scarlett O Hara took in the penniless Wilkes family under her wing for years after the war and had them live with her on sweet charity- Could it be that they have the audacity to survive and flourish without even a hint of guilt for leaving their noble benefactress behind?!" He feigned mock horror. "Heaven forbid!"

Scarlett began to splutter for Rhett had read her envy of Twelve Oaks with alarming accuracy. "Ashley Wilkes's choices do not affect me and don't you forget it. What I did before was.. was-"

Rhett leaned forward earnestly. "self-less and angelic perhaps?" he offered, flashing his teeth and infuriating her even more.

"Oh, you horrid, nasty thing!" cried Scarlett, rising to her feet. "How you do run on..when.. when you know that I could manage sharecropping on Tara far better than Ashley ever can with his father's plantation."

Rhett immediately put out an arm and jerked her back into her seat. "How?" he shot out, a sudden malicious gleam in his eyes.

Scarlett cursed herself for this tactless slip. "Well, I.. I thought we could work together on it." she began, trying to appear nonchalant. She fluttered her eyelids under his solid gaze, forgetting for a moment that coquetry would have no effect on her all-too-wise husband. "You have your vast experience with cotton trading and we've both been to England and seen some of the biggest mills. Surely with all that knowledge, I thought we would do marvelously better than-"

"You know I have poor tolerance for liars and yet you test my patience." said Rhett, his voice cool and deadly. "Now you've planned this thing out,haven't you? Planned it enough to start working right away with Mr. Westley. Well, pardon me for sticking a spoke in your greedy, little wheel but I'd like to know the truth about your profit-making schemes before you get completely out of hand."

Scarlett opened her mouth, decided otherwise and fell morosely silent. Rhett was already sure that he wouldn't lend her the money. Why should she spoil any other chances by revealing everything to him?

Rhett's face seemed to harden upon seeing the defiant Gerald jawline spring up from Scarlett's soft white face. His hand around her arm tightened until it hurt. "When Frank allowed you to run the mills and lease convicts and when you cried crocodile tears upon his death, I said he ought to have given you a beating with a buggy whip instead of allowing you to bully him. And when I married you, I should have taken a whip to you once.. at least once!. It would have benefited you immensely. But wretched fool that I was, I allowed my jealousy of Ashley Wilkes to blind me to common sense and good judgement. But now that the sublime Mr. Wilkes no longer poses a threat to our marriage, I shall make good on my threats-"

"If you think I'm going to sit down and listen to your vile talk-"

"Sit down?" Rhett's eyebrows shot up in black crescents. "By the time I'm through with you, you won't be able to sit down for a week." He callously jerked her to her feet. There was a frightening glitter in his eyes. "But I'll be fair. This time, I shall limit myself to giving you a spanking. If patient reasoning can't get the truth out of you, then a smarting bottom certainly will!"

He pulled Scarlett along to the stairs.

"Now wait a minute-" voiced Scarlett, anxious not to speak aloud for fear of drawing the attention of her Aunt or the servants.

"I am doing you a favor,darling. I am taking measures to instill some character into you and saving you the trouble of mourning for your soul later."

They were half-way up the stairs when Aunt Pitty called out from the bottom rails with a cup of strong tea in her hands. "We ran out of coffee, Scarlett, so I wondered if you would rather have a cup of tea-"

"Keep it in the kettle, Aunt Pitty." replied Rhett cheerfully, instead of Scarlett. "Scarlett will be along in just a minute. We've got an urgent matter to settle-"

"Oh yes,of course-"replied Aunt Pitty, bewildered by the sudden departure of her avid listeners. She disappeared down to the room below and Scarlett shot an imploring glance at Rhett. But he wouldn't be moved. He still held on to her arm and half-shoved her into their bedroom. When he bolted the door and took a few menacing steps forward, Scarlett's strong exterior finally broke and she said dispassionately,

"All right, Rhett. I'll tell you of my plans for Tara. Just let me get to a sheet of paper and a pen, will you?"

There was almost an instantaneous change in Rhett's manners and temper. He chivalrously pulled out a chair at the writing desk for her and bowed her into it. Scarlett wretchedly pulled out a sheet of paper and began to make jottings of the wonderful plans she had for making a profit out of Tara. Rhett leaned over beside her and watched her writings with interest.

As Scarlett wrote down the list of facts and figures, a calm settled over her. It was as if fate had stepped in and now that the secret was out, she might as well relax and admit to the whole thing. She rather began to enjoy herself as she reached the last of her scribblings. As she looked up, she saw a distinct look admiration in Rhett's eyes. He took the sheet from her and held it up towards the light.

"Why, what meticulous plans you have laid out for Tara, Mrs. Butler! Yours is a nefarious style and I daresay you will succeed if you had a little money behind you-"

"Oh Rhett, will you-"

"I'm afraid not" sighed Rhett. "No it is not out of pure meanness that I want to deprive you of your opportunity to restore Tara. I have good reasons. First, your impeccable motives of working on Tara in direct competition with Twelve Oaks - a storm in itself and second, Mr. Charles Westley himself. I fear he might be too much for even a little schemer like you to handle. I know his type, believe me and you don't. You don't possess knowledge of people beyond Clayton County and Atlanta and I know it doesn't seem much of a difference to you, but it really does make one hell of a difference, darling. While you quote extravagant prices for your horses and wagons and ploughs, he might do something ten times worse. So we shall end this matter on a sensible note. Now, once you have decided on a small business, I'll sign a check right away and you keep yourself occupied-"

Scarlett looked vaguely disappointed. Then her eyes lit up as she studied her own writings. A new plan of action began to form in her fertile mind. "Rhett-" she began with a placating smile on her face. "I'd like to rent out horses and wagon teams. I'll need about seven to eight teams. Is that all right for a business?"

"Why that particular line of venture, my love?"

"Well, if plantation owners everywhere are going to attempt sharecropping, then they would all be in need of horses and carts, wouldn't they? It would make for a good business-"

Rhett appraised her warily and then he gave a smile. "All right. If that is what you want."

"Thank you!"

"I am going to delay your stay at Aunt Pitty's for a day or two longer. I am going to visit Twelve Oaks and see for myself what is going on down there."

"God's nightgown, you can't leave me out of it!" cried Scarlett, overjoyed. "Rhett, of all times to be cruel. Darling, you know I would love to come-"

"I know. It frightens me. Somehow I cannot shake the feeling that you will connect your horse and cart business to sharecropping for Tara. Your eyes gleam like a hungry cat already! No,my pet, you stay here. I'll make it back in one day. I want to know everything there is to know about this business and perhaps have a chat with Mr. Westley myself so that I can be prepared to face anything your headstrong ways might throw up-"

"Rhett, I promise I will never approach Mr. Westley with my sharecropping ideas."

"I've learned to discard your promises,darling. They are but writings in the sand."

"But I'm serious this time. I do promise. Only let me come with you to Twelve Oaks. You have to start trusting me sometime or the other-"

Rhett half-sat on the desk and swung out his legs. He regarded Scarlett with a look of amusement. "All right. You can come with me. But remember your promise."

"I will." assured Scarlett and pecked him on the tip of his nose with a kiss.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Scarlett held up the lovely,china-blue, painted and patterned cotton dress that Rhett had bought for her at the English trade exhibition. They had both agreed that the roller printing on it was near perfection in comparison with the other dresses. It came with a smart-fitting jacket that ended just above a medium bustle. It came with a thin netted cotton veil too. Scarlett had liked it very much when Rhett bought it for her. But now she put her own desires aside and packed the dress in its box for Suellen. It was not out of sisterly affection or generosity that she was making this little sacrifice. Scarlett had other plans in mind and it was imperative that she secure Suellen's trust as quickly as possible.

* * *

Long before their carriage rounded the wide bend to reach the red road leading to Twelve Oaks, Scarlett grew impatient with excitement and sat up very straight in her seat. The road looked busier than usual with mules and carts crowding the sides. Evidently, the restoration of the old planation was well underway. As they climbed the rise of the hill where the wide curving driveway had once been, Scarlett could see groups of blacks, standing together under the trees, some of them smoking and some of them staring back out of pure curiosity. They all looked extremely capable of working hard. They were regular, hard-worn field-hands. Scarlett's eyes snapped at the very sight of them. The carriage stopped and Rhett helped Scarlett outside. Scarlett looked up at the little white-washed house that had been newly erected in the place of John Wilkes's beautiful antebellum house with its graceful white columns and wide sunny verandas.

"Why must Ashley construct such an ugly looking thing in the place of his father's lovely house?" voiced Scarlett, twisting her features in disgust.

"He has to live somewhere when the restoration of his farm is being done, doesn't he?" replied Rhett, looking this way and that and then tipping his hat in the direction of the approaching Mr. Wilkes. Ashley was on a horse and he was followed by Beau on a horse of his own. Both of them rode up to the carriage and Ashley beckoned one of the watching blacks to lead the Rhett's carriage to the barnyard and unharness the horses there.

"Aunt Scarlett!" greeted Beau, with exuberance. He jumped down from his horse and came up to give Scarlett a peck on her cheek. Scarlett immediately shot a smug look to Rhett which seemed to tell him that although she could rarely inspire such open affections from her own children, she never had such troubles with Beau.

"Captain Butler, I heard you were back from your trip to England. But I've been buried down here with share-cropping responsibilities that I could hardly tear myself away for a visit to Atlanta-" Ashley gave that dignified yet ineffectual smile which once long ago would have turned a sixteen-year old Scarlett O Hara, weak at the knees but now she hardly paid attention to it.

"That is understandable, Mr. Wilkes" replied Rhett, cordially. "I know how confusing the contracts can be-"

"Oh, Mr. Westley is taking care of that for me. He has been most kind. Er.. would you like to come into the house?. Its not anything like our old home but its only temporary. By the end of the year, I should have enough money to tear it down and build a better home."

Rhett followed Ashley up the stairs and Scarlet turned to Beau with a smile. Suddenly her eyes caught on some grinning black boys lingering around the sweet shrubs by the garden path. Strangely their grins seemed to be directed at Beau. "Friends of yours?" she asked, with a good humored smile.

"Oh yes-" replied Beau, as a matter-of-factly. But as he said the words, his hand went to his faintly bulging pocket and Scarlett recognized the contents with widening eyes. "Beau, what is that you are hiding in your pocket?" she cried, shocked by what she had seen. "Here, give it to me at once!"

Beau looked vaguely guilty but he was at ease because Scarlett was his favorite Aunt. He pulled out the contents and gave them to Scarlett. Scarlett's eyes fell on the soiled deck of cards in her gloved hand. "Have you been playing with those boys,Beau? Have you been playing poker?"

"Yes, Aunt Scarlett" replied Beau, trying to look solemn and failing. His eyes conveyed the amount of pleasure he drew out of playing the game. "One of those boys taught me-"

"Have you been playing with money?"

"Yes"

Scarlett let out a small gasp and looked tongue-tied. She knew she should be very angry. If it had been her own Wade Hamilton, she would have twisted his ears and burnt up the cards but this was Beau! Who would have ever thought that Ashley's only boy - a pure blood Wilkes would start gambling at such an early age? It was a disaster in itself.

"Does your father know about this?"

"No, Aunt Scarlett. But I've seen him play once."

Scarlett gazed about, uncertain of what to say. Then she looked up the stairs and saw Rhett standing at the topmost step, watching them. Evidently he had seen the cards as well and from the look on his brown face, he seemed to find it all terribly amusing. Something in his gaze seemed to challenge her spirit. She quickly bent down to Beau and said sternly,

"Now Beau, promise me that you won't play poker with those boys again. Your father may play it but he's old enough and he only plays with other gentlemen. And you know that its not right for a young gentleman like you to play for money. It could turn out to be a habit of the worst kind. Now promise me that you won't ever play again-"

Beau nodded, although grudgingly. He held out his hand for the cards but Scarlett half-angrily held them back. "I'll keep these for now. You go play other games like a good fellow, all right?"

When Scarlett drew up alongside Rhett, he bent down and said in a sepulchral whisper, "Boys are a passel of trouble, Scarlett. I always held that view and with good reason. You got that pack of cards out of him today but if he has any sense, he will get a pack tomorrow and get better at the game-"

"Then I'll just have to tell Ashley about it-"

"A lot of good that will do!" snorted Rhett, callously. "From what I gathered from the vaporings of your Aunt Pitty, Mr. Wilkes is up to his ears with the charms of Miss. Westley and the noble occupations of his board of education. So I assume that he would only turn a deaf ear and a blind eye to his son's needs."

Scarlett bristled at these remarks for she vaguely thought them to be true as well. Ashley had never been half as doting a father around Beau. Melanie had played that role for the both of them until her death and now in the light of these poker cards, it struck Scarlett that Beau's needs might have been sorely neglected.

"Don't look so alarmed" chided Rhett, his voice sinking in further mocking barbs. "I learned to play poker around Beau's age and I turned out all right, didn't I?"

Scarlett gave him a cold stare and went into the small parlor room where the maid was setting up some coffee and sandwiches. She heard Rhett chuckling softly as he followed her inside.

* * *

Ashley joined them in a short while after changing out of his riding things and he was more than willing to give Rhett a tour of the restoration work being done on the plantation. They were chatting almost gaily when suddenly they heard the sounds of another carriage drawing up the drive. It was Mr. Westley himself, resplendent in his immaculate white suit and gleaming white mustaches. He carried his cane and warmly shook hands with Ashley and returned a bow to Rhett. Scarlett smirked inwardly. She knew Rhett saved his most solicitous, burlesque bows for the people on whom he bestowed the greatest contempt. Mr. Westley in turn bore no ill well. He even acknowledged Scarlett as a fine lady with shrewd common sense. Miss. Westley joined their company as well. And so did Mr. Henry Westley, her brother. While the father and daughter arrived in their carriage, Mr. Henry Westley preferred to follow on a horse of his own. Once again Scarlett was struck by the mute arrogance in the young Mr. Westley's manners and tone of voice. Rhett could be terribly arrogant if he wanted to, but he always covered his cynical remarks under a layer of suaveness or charm. This man was hardly charming at all. Instead he seemed boorish and aloof. They all climbed up the stairs and once again settled in the little parlor room for a renewed chat.

* * *

The men had rode out on their horses to the Wilkeses plantation and didn't return until it was long past lunch time. Scarlett tried to make conversation with Jane but the possibilities of sharecropping on Tara were distracting her from making the usual kind of genteel small talk that ladies made so well. Instead she questioned Jane eagerly on the wages being paid for the blacks, about several details concerning the contracts and who marked out the plots of land and decided the rents. But Jane's stumbling replies could hardly assuage her curiosity. Jane seemed more inclined to talk about Ella and whether she had given Scarlett further trouble after their rendezvous at Market street. Scarlett thought it was charming of her to remember her daughter but she was starved for more rewarding conversation. She drew a breath of relief when she finally spotted Rhett approaching them from the fields. "I know that it is late, Mrs. Butler but I knew you must be burning with curiosity about the cotton farms."

Jane turned sweetly innocent eyes to Scarlett who looked dismayed at Rhett's brute frankness. Rhett grinned widely at her. "Aaah, I see by your expression that you can hardly restrain yourself so I've asked a fellow to bring around a horse for you."

"Mrs. Butler, surely the Captain is joking" smiled Jane, thinking that this repartee was a sign of Rhett's queer humor. She had heard of men who possessed queer sense of humor and Captain Butler must be one of them. But as the new horse arrived, Scarlett could hardly keep up pretenses. She longed to ride out to the plantation and nothing was going to stand in her way. Jane looked very surprised when Scarlett made her leave and watched the husband and wife ride out together in vague bewilderment. Perhaps it was common amongst Georgian ladies - daughters of former planters to be so interested in tedious things like plantations and cotton. Goodness knows, Jane never bothered her pretty head about them!

* * *

"Tell me,Scarlett, have you gleaned all the information about sharecropping from the too-good-to-be-true Miss. Westley?"

"No, she didn't seem to know much about-" Scarlett stopped herself and threw a black look at Rhett. Then she dissolved into a smile. "You are a devil for knowing me so well! Yes, I did drill her but she wasn't half as interested as I was. I suppose she only talks of books and plays and things. Those were the topics that interested Ashley the most. He and Melanie used to carry on as if they were poets and writers themselves. Goodness, you should hear the twiddle-twaddle they spoke of!"

"Yes, but there is one other reason why Ashley might consider marrying outside the Wilkes family. He might marry for position. The Westleys are pure Southerners and the best of families in Charleston-"

"I suppose you are right." agreed Scarlett, thoughtfully. "The Wilkeses are a dwindling lot now. Marrying Jane Westley might be the best thing to happen to Ashley. She too is kind and sensible like Melly."

Rhett shot her a look of scorn. "Scarlett, you really ought to observe people more closely. Miss. Westley may be kind but she is hardly sensible or even half as practical as the late Mrs. Wilkes. No,my dear, you have misread her entirely-"

"Oh, and I suppose you know all about her already?" taunted Scarlett, at her sarcastic best.

"I don't claim to know everything. But from what I observed, she seems more dreamy-eyed and idealistic than Ashley Wilkes. Perhaps he might marry her for position or for her youth but I doubt he will find her engaging later on-"

"Find her engaging later on-" echoed Scarlett, with a teasing grin. "Really Rhett, how you do run on-"

They reached the borders of the vast plantation grounds and from then on all of Scarlett's attentions were centered on sharecropping and how to bring it about at Tara.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Scarlett drew back the yellow-green curtains of her room and made sure that her bed was soaked with the bright rays of the afternoon sun. Then she brought out the china-blue dress out of its ornamental box with a theatrical flourish and spread it breadth-wise across the covers. She noted smugly that the layered skirt swamped the entire bed and flounced onto the wooden floor. This sight alone should attract Suellen like a bee to a flower! Scarlett stepped back to make a long-distance survey when Suellen herself walked inside.

Suellen was just coming up to ask where Captain Butler had taken the three children for it was well-past lunch and the meals were ready. But when her eyes fell on the brilliant shade of blue peeking from within layers of white that looked like angel's wings, all concerns of the children or the deserted lunch table went flying out of her mind. She clasped her hand to her breast and drew a sharp breath. Her eyebrows twisted together and rose up in boiling excitement.

"Scarlett, you've got a new dress!" Suellen was leaning over the bed in a flash. Scarlett watched her sister run her hands over the voluminous skirt and finger the delicate folds as if touching the petals of a newly sprung flower. She noted her sister's eyes blazing with envy as they observed the lovely shade of blue and the printed work on it. "Oh, it's painted too!" yelped Suellen, who considered herself quite competent in the realm of arts. "The paints highlight the stitches, don't they? They give the embroidery a pushed-out appearance." She sighed to herself. "It must be the latest fashion in England. My heavens, I've never seen anything like it!."

"Sue, I always thought elegant blue was just your color!" Scarlett's mouth curved faintly in an accusatory pout. "Though you've always fancied yourself in green."

Suellen whirled around with a squeal of rapture. "Is it for me?!"

"Of course." replied Scarlett, with a gracious, munificent smile. "I brought presents for everyone. And when Rhett was buying me so many lovely things at the Hyde Park cotton exhibition-" Scarlett purposely lingered on the word "cotton" just long enough to make a firm impression. She continued, "-I thought, wouldn't this dress look lovely on Suellen? It would make her look ever so much like a fine young lady-"

"Oh honey, it would indeed! Oh Scarlett!" Suellen threw her arms about her older sister and nearly choked her in excitement. "Help me try it on."

The next half-hour, Scarlett was engaged in fitting the dress on Suellen's frame. They had to make a few adjustments for Suellen hardly had as fine a figure as Scarlett. Only after adding an extra layer of silk ruffles to the lining of Suellen's basque and only after lacing her stays up to twenty inches, Suellen was able to do justice to the cut of the dress. Scarlett's eyes narrowed in outright scorn. "Great balls of fire, twenty inches! And Suellen has borne only one silly, simpering brat! I have borne three children and I can't help lacing at twenty inches. Suellen has no excuse! The lazy, over-eating thing!" But Scarlett swallowed her wrath as quickly as possible and beamed lovingly at her sister's reflection.

"How lovely you look, Suellen! All your friends will be green with envy. They would all ask where you bought such a pretty dress and you shall say that it was from England and they would be frustrated that they couldn't get a similar piece!"

Suellen giggled foolishly at this, her blue eyes gleaming in simple child-like glee at her unexpected self-indulgence. She'd always lived in Scarlett's shadow, constantly anxious that her older sister's beauty and charm might outdo her own womanly sweetness. But right now she graciously set aside past differences and wondered if she could have misjudged Scarlett.

Scarlett helped her into the coat and twirled the flimsy, netted veil about the outline of her face and neck. When the matching pearl bonnet was sitting prettily on her head, Suellen could hardly recognize herself. She stood lost in a lovely world where she was the belle of the County and surrounded by beaus and girlfriends who all remarked upon her beauty. Suellen sighed and gazed fondly at the lace gloves and the pearls sewed into them. "Scarlett, how much is it? You must tell me!"

"Well, I'm not entirely sure since Rhett bought so many things that day. I think the cost was around a thousand dollars-"

"Thousand dollars!" shrieked Suellen, now firmly convinced that she had most certainly misjudged Scarlett. This was the most wonderful thing anyone had ever done for her! Even her wedding dress had been such a poor, pathetic affair. It would pall next to this little gem. A thousand dollars! Goodness gracious!

Suellen regarded herself in the mirror once again. Suddenly a thought struck her. "Cotton exhibition, did you say?"

Scarlett's face cleared at this long-awaited question. She assumed an air of disinterest and said,

"Yes. You would have never guessed but the people of England are just crazy for cotton. They wear it all day long. Even ladies of the richest families. They weave cotton into silk and fit it with silk brocades. It comes dyed in ever so many colors and patterns. Why they even use cotton for their furnishings. No wonder Pa made such a fine profit off Tara before the war. Pa was a very smart man!"

Suellen's face fell at the mention of her father.

Scarlett instantly pulled a friendly arm about her sister's waist. "Pa's death wasn't your fault, Sue. I knew you had done it in the best of interest. After all there was a lot of money to be had from the new government. Why shouldn't you benefit from the schemes... I would have done the same-"

"Everyone here was so hateful about it. They made it seem as if it was all my fault when it wasn't." said Suellen, resolutely. "How long was I.. were we to starve and scrape for food. Pa thought it wasn't honorable to sign the Iron Clad Oath-"

"Well, let's not talk of such painful things, darling. Pa is happy now.. in heaven with Mother.. I believe that's what he always wanted. To be with her."

Scarlett sat on the edge of the bed and cupped her chin in her hands. "Now if only there was some way we could get Tara completely restored with every field cultivated and blooming with miles and miles of cotton. Why should we have such a large plantation going to waste when England is just a boat ride away, waving a dollar a pound for our cotton-"

"A dollar a pound!" gasped Suellen, blinking stupidly at this revealing bit of information. "You mean, they want our cotton at such high prices. But Will never told me-"

"One doesn't know these things for sure until one goes to England and sees with one's own eyes."

"Well, it's gloriously tempting! Especially if England is depending on our cotton to make dresses as pretty as the one I'm wearing right now. Goodness, they must have a lot of mills-"

"Nine hundred" slipped in Scarlett, casually.

"Nine hundred mills!" cried Suellen, taken aback by the number. "There must be a huge demand then!"

"Yes." Scarlett chewed on her lip, wondering if this was enough for Suellen to ponder on for now. "It's a real shame. If you could get Tara up and running, you could afford a hundred of such dresses and be a real plantation owner's daughter! Now, you've heard what is happening at Twelve Oaks."

"Yes, Ashley Wilkes is going about restoring his father's plantation. Oh, sister.. is it really the thing to do nowadays? I've heard Will speak about it. But its all he can do to manage fifteen field-hands and even they manage to kick up trouble at least twice a month. Nothing's like the old days now-"

"Yes. I suppose it isn't." agreed Scarlett, with a sign of dismissal. She decided to leave the topic at that. No sense in addling Suellen's fragile brain altogether. They both stirred when they heard noises downstairs. The children and their beloved Uncle Rhett had come home at last.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

As Scarlett descended the stairs alongside Suellen, the latter suddenly grabbed her arm and said,

"Scarlett, there's one thing I forgot to tell you." She stopped Scarlett by the stairs and nodded to Wade who had just entered from the front porch, his arms and legs covered with dry dirt after a rough game in the fields and getting promptly scolded by Mammy for ruining the front carpet.

"Wade's new public school is having its annual reception. It's supposed to be quite a fastidious affair unlike our own little private schools. Well, Wade is doing a recital and he'd been bragging about it for days now. So, on the day you were to arrive at Tara, I told him, "Wade, you can tell your Mama now and she'll be able to come and see you perform" and he practically begged me not to tell you."

Scarlett's face changed subtly from the joy of hearing of her son showing some initiative towards performance and then anger and hurt at it being kept a secret from her.

"Why, that's plain silly. He couldn't have-"

"Oh, yes he did. He didn't exactly tell me why. And I thought he was only fooling around. And now the evening's arrived and-"

"The reception is this evening?!"

"Yes. And he still didn't breathe a word-"

Scarlett fumed under breath and quickly descended the remaining stairs. Rhett was already seated at the table and Prissy was attending to Susie and Ella. As Wade joined them to take his place, Scarlett angrily began,

"Wade, why didn't you tell Uncle Rhett and me that you were doing a recital at your school reception?"Wade looked stunned for a moment and then he cast a reproachful, almost pathetic look at his Aunt Suellen who was trying to look as innocent as possible. He didn't make a reply.

"Answer me, Wade. Didn't you think that your Mama would be proud to see you on stage? Why did you have to go and hide such a thing? If it weren't for your Aunt, I would have never known-"

Suellen's face turned faintly apologetic and Rhett laid his hand on Scarlett's to stop her tirade. Actually he looked a little concerned. Wade had played so wild and carefree and now he looked positively terrified. But by what? Rhett could see his hands tremble under the table. Evidently something was very wrong.

"We're going to this recital, Rhett. We are taking a carriage and Wade is going to ride with us." decided Scarlett, firmly. "Besides, I want to see how much these public schools have improved since last year when they'd been introduced. They say they are very strict on discipline, attendance and things like that-"

* * *

Scarlett was in a very sour temper as she dressed for the school reception. Rhett tried to appease her anger but she only pouted and fumed some more. "I don't deserve to be feared like this. My goodness, what did I ever do to Wade? And after I'd done so much for him. I took him out of that silly private school where they had no rules and no structure and I put him in this lovely place on top of a hill. It's a lovely school,Rhett. A public school for boys and I even got to know the superintendent and I told him that Wade was an especially nervous boy and that he needed special attention. And obviously the teachers have been very kind to listen to my words and give Wade a part to perform in their function-"

"Of course, Wade's natural talent wouldn't have anything to do with it-" interjected Rhett, softly.

Scarlett, wrapped entirely in her own thoughts and emotions, continued to grumble,

"And Wade ought to be glad that we arrived just in time to see him perform."

"Upon closer observation, he rather looked terrified when you threatened to attend-" drawled Rhett, lazily.

"Exactly!" snapped Scarlett, bitter and confused.

"Perhaps he fears your gargantuan presence-"

"My what?" blinked Scarlett, bewildered. "What does that mean?"

"He's afraid of being scared out of his wits with you sitting in the crowds."

Scarlett rallied in further accusation. "And why should he feel that way,Sir? What did I ever do to him? I've been nothing but sweetness and kindness these past few months-" She forgot for a moment that she had spent the last month in England and the month before that in Charleston. Rhett nodded his head in mocking sympathy but didn't say a word. He quietly smoked his cigar, pretending to listen to Scarlett's outburst and secretly wondering why Wade was so nervous about their going to the reception.

* * *

As the carriage climbed up the winding slope paths, Rhett could see that Scarlett wasn't exaggerating about Wade's school. It was situated in a very scenic location and it's structure was almost architectural. Evidently several planter's children went to the school from the number of parents and relatives gathered at the gardens. The school had one large auditorium which was by now was nearly half-filled. Wade found a few of his friends and disappeared to change into his costume. Meanwhile Scarlett found two empty seats in the third row. She was determined to enjoy her son's performance.

The reception began and it was deathly formal. Events and speeches progressed so slowly that Rhett stifled yawn after yawn beside Scarlett. Scarlett sat extremely proud and dignified. She realized that they were probably some of the richest parents to attend the school reception. Most of the planter families were just now recuperating after the war and she knew none of them had half as much wealth as she. Why she wouldn't be surprised if the superintendent would approach Rhett at the end of the function and perhaps lead up to a small donation towards some noble scholastic cause. And Scarlett would be only too happy to donate. As long as they kept pushing Wade onto the stage like this. A boy of his age ought to enjoy the spotlight. Scarlett always did.

Finally, the much-awaited recital began. It was split in parts and Wade's turn was somewhere in the middle. He looked quite confident, almost happy as he sat with his fellow performers. Then when his turn came, Rhett sat up, eager to show his involvement. Suddenly his eyes deflected to the shadows behind the side curtains where a group of older boys huddled and whispered together. Evidently their performance was after the recital and they were discussing arrangements. He looked up at the stage and saw that Wade's eyes were turned to the same direction. In fact, Wade's eyes were almost frozen in that direction, as if there was something threatening about the blue costumes of the older boys. Rhett frowned and peered at the busy group once again while Scarlett hissed out in frustration.

"Why doesn't he speak?! Great balls of fire, is he going to just stand there with those stupid cow eyes?!"

One of the teachers began to prompt Wade from near the stage. But Wade's eyes were diverted entirely on the harmless group of boys who were now staring like everyone else at the stage.

"Fetch that boy off the stage!" commanded one of the older teachers from the side. "He is ruining the recital. "

"I don't understand it. He pestered for the part and now he won't say his lines-"

Scarlett's ears pricked up at this and her chest began to heave with indignation.

Somehow Wade was dragged off the stage and the recital continued as if there had been no interruption. The reception went well into the night. It was almost nine when the anthem was sung and the families began to depart for their homes. Scarlett wished more than ever to be seated in her own carriage. She was in no mood to greet anyone, much less the superintendent after her son's fiasco. Rhett had gone to fetch Wade. After a long while, he appeared with Wade following mournfully behind. Rhett patted him on the back, uttering several reassuring words but Wade's eyes were entirely fixed on Scarlett.

Scarlett refrained from speaking a word since she knew that Rhett would instantly question her parenting skills. She wasn't going to give him an inch to lord it over her. She diverted her eyes to the window and remained silent throughout the entire journey back to Tara.

Exhausted and dismayed by the turn of events, Scarlett climbed wearily from the carriage and prepared to enter the house. Wade had already rushed inside and Pork came to lead the horses to the stable. Just as she crossed the wide veranda, Rhett came out to the door and grabbed her roughly by the arm.

"Why didn't you speak kindly to Wade? He kept looking to you. I tried to comfort him but he seems to attach more importance to your words!"

"Ha! I like that! I kept quiet knowing very well that you would somehow pin Wade's idiocy on me. What was I to say to him? Congratulate him perhaps on having humiliated himself and the whole school during that prestigious annual reception? What was so difficult in his recital any way? All the other boys were doing it. It must be Charlie's blood that's making him so cowardly-"

Rhett seemed to react very strangely to her vein of sarcasm. His grip on her wrist tightened. "Your boy did humiliate himself. If you had any motherly instinct you would have spoken gently to him and found out the reason why."

"I cannot keep playing nursemaid. Wade has to learn these things on his own-"

Rhett shot her a look of disgust. "Sometimes Scarlett, I wonder if you have a heart at all! You keep happening on chances to change, chances to repair relationships and build trust. But you miss them all! Perhaps your son did want to impress you, perhaps he wanted to impress himself.. and his failure would have affected him more than you or me or his teachers.. clearly he was distracted by something in the crowd. Perhaps the older boys were heckling at him.. If you had any sense-"

"Don't you dare blame this on me." cried Scarlett, ruffling up at once. "I didn't speak one word of rebuke to Wade-"

"And you didn't speak one word of reassurance either-" accused Rhett, throwing away her wrist. "You will never understand anybody's weakness. You'd walk all over them and never feel remorse." Scarlett glared at him, hurt that he blamed Wade's failures at her. She had nothing to do with this. Rhett was purposely finding fault with her. Summoning every ounce of restraint, Scarlett gathered her skirt and flounced into the house without sparing a look in Rhett's direction.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

The next morning, Scarlett stung by the harshness in Rhett's tone, sought some convenient moment to pull Wade aside and ask him about last night. But when she finally did, Wade hardly wanted to talk about it and only seemed more flustered and afraid. Scarlett asked several firm questions. Whether those older boys were heckling him? Whether he hadn't practiced his lines hard enough or some teacher had been rude to him?

Wade squirmed uncomfortably at these probing questions and wanted nothing better than to slip away. Scarlett finally gave up. Rhett was wrong. Wade was embarrassed to talk about his recital and it was only natural for a boy to act tough in front of his mother. Scarlett had only made things worse by making him remember things all over again. She _was_ a good mother and Rhett just couldn't see it.

Still, Scarlett couldn't shake the feeling that something had changed last night. Rhett's outburst and her own indignant replies. She had been struggling to keep her temper under wraps and be as kind and understanding as possible. But last night was a needless drama caused by Rhett's own imagination. He acted the same way when Scarlett had suggested that Bonnie should be left alone to cry and that would make her get over her fears of the dark. That time as well, Rhett had bellowed like an angry bull and almost looked as if he would hit Scarlett.

Then Scarlett quickly stirred out of her thoughts and decided to put these unpleasant things behind her. "I won't think of it now. I'll think about it tomorrow." she told herself, with a defiant toss of her head. She took a deep breath and began to pleasantly engage her mind in bringing about her cart and horse business.

* * *

Rhett never mentioned the incident at Wade's school again. He seemed to have forgotten all about it. He left for Atlanta to hire builders for the construction of their new house at Pinegrove. So, the next month, Scarlett and Rhett stayed alternately at Tara and the Atlanta hotel, overseeing the arrival of materials, the laying of the foundation, the design of the house, the levelling of the surrounding area and the clearing of weed-infested ground. Whenever Rhett was not occupied with the construction matters, he always made it a point to take Wade out to the forests and teach him how to shoot. Scarlett was doubtful about this for she was sure that Wade was still too young to handle a pistol. But if anyone should teach Wade how to shoot, it should be Rhett for he was an excellent marksman. And Wade seemed to be showing interest in the occupation. So, she let things be.

Instead Scarlett began to hunt in the surrounding towns for the latest cotton farming implements and machinery. She foraged in shops and factories, taking the carriage out on her own. She kept a small diary with her in which she noted down the prices and the cost of the parts. Sometimes she discussed her business ideas with Rhett. He listened but didn't object to anything. He generously gave her the money and was even considerate enough to consult her on the layout of her shop which was to be in the premises of Pinegrove.

Scarlett excitedly sketched out the spread of her store, where the carts should be housed and the horses harnessed. The small office in the front with a tall secretary, just like her Mother's and a long sofa for the clients to sit and wait their turn. She planned many small rooms for storing her future equipment and any kind of additions she may make to her inventory. Rhett never complained and he paid all the bills.

* * *

Naturally by the end of the month, word got around Atlanta and the surrounding counties that Scarlett Butler was opening a new store. While the Atlanta ladies clicked their tongues and fretfully shook their heads, the local farming community, whites and blacks seemed very interested. A fair crowd gathered at the road when the eight new carts arrived. They seemed to be the latest from up North. They were built out of fine wood and gleaming with coats of varnish. Foremen and plantation owners dropped in for a friendly chat and inquired about the prices.

Scarlett was charming to them all. And the prices she quoted were downright cheap. When Rhett first heard of her prices, he laughed outright. But he didn't say a word. The horses were fine beasts too. Almost too good for just farming. And again Scarlett's prices were very nominal.

So, even before the store was finished, Scarlett was already hiring out cart and horse teams to various plantations where sharecropping was underway. They all called her a real lady and a fine business woman. The money, though paltry and well below the profit line, arrived promptly from grateful farmers and when the time was ripe, Scarlett began to buy ploughshares, tools and machinery as well.

* * *

Rhett frequently consulted with Scarlett about her ideas on the design of the house. As far as he knew, he was building a very rugged place with large airy rooms and wide open windows and long verandas. He wanted the place to look sunny and bright, fresh and as natural as possible, blending completely with the ring of dark pines around. Scarlett found his request for her participation to be charming and she did all she could to spare some time to be with him and think these things through. But often her thriving business kept her on her toes and every holiday, she was busy travelling to Tara and keeping her sister up to date with the activities of her store and getting information on the latest developments at Twelve Oaks.

"You know Suellen, with your own sister owning a horse and cart business and dealing with all this farming equipment, it should be easy for you to venture into sharecropping. You could borrow these things from me or let those black foremen consult with me and I could quote good prices. Why hundreds of field-hands would love to work for you and Tara would come back to the way it was before-"

Suellen listened, sometimes with interest and sometimes in plain confusion. She couldn't understand why her older sister was flooding her with so many details but she felt vaguely flattered. When Will sat alone with Suellen, she often spoke about how Scarlett had changed from being vain and overbearing and was becoming a much more sweeter person. Will, in turn, travelled around on his horse to nearby plantations and observed for himself the advantages of this new sharecropping system. He came up with interesting stories and entertained Scarlett during her visits to Tara.

And so the days rolled by, happily and constructively for Scarlett.

* * *

Then months later, the day that Scarlett waited for anxiously and fervently finally arrived. Their house at Pinegrove had been completed and Scarlett and Rhett had finished moving in with their belongings. Scarlett received a letter from Suellen that she would visit soon with little Susie. The evening that Suellen arrived, Scarlett was extremely cordial and kind. She listened patiently to her younger sister and ordered the cook to make the best food and suddenly Suellen uttered with a laugh that she and Will had been seriously considering approaching Mr. Westley to begin sharecropping at Tara. Scarlett's eyes shot wide open, like a hungry cat in the dark that had just found its prey.

"Oh, but are you quite sure about it?" she asked, hardly keeping her excitement in check. She stole a glance at Rhett and saw that his face was buried behind a newspaper.

"Well, why not. After all, you are having this wonderful store with all the farming equipment and as you said, our black field-hands could rent them out from you for their plots of land and it would be good business. We could do the same and pay whenever we can, couldn't we?"

"Why, of course!" cried Scarlett. "Anything for you,darling. Seeing Tara restored has always been my fondest dream-"

"Well, Will is talking to Mr. Westley next week. The old Mr. Westley seems unavailable but his son agreed to spare an appointment. Well, sister.. I shall look forward to your help in this. It's a big step for us."

* * *

When Suellen left, Scarlett's eyes glittered in triumph. Her well-laid plans were taking effect and now she would wait for another month and raise the prices. She sauntered into the house and found Rhett observing her queerly.

"What is it?" she asked, pretending to appear nonchalant.

"Well well.. it seems you have found a way to bring sharecropping to Tara-"

"It was Suellen and Will's decision to make. Not mine." shot back Scarlett, rapidly.

"So it seems. But you must have worked very hard angling the bait in front of sister Sue's greedy little eyes." Rhett laughed softly.

"I don't see anything so amusing." said Scarlett haughtily. "Naturally when her own sister is owning a store in farming equipment, Suellen would be a fool not to seize the opportunity. Why should every other plantation be restored except Tara. I heard even Mrs. Tarleton was planning to bring back her farming land-"

"Yes. Yes, I see" said Rhett, folding up his paper and tossing it aside. "Well, it doesn't interest me more than any other schemes you might have up your sleeve. I'm leaving for Charleston early in the morning and then a trip abroad to Paris-"

Scarlett looked shocked at this. "You never told me this."

"I never intended to go. I'd been putting it off and now sister Sue's announcement decided it-"

"Rhett, you can't be serious." cried Scarlett, angrily clutching Rhett's sleeve. "What does Suellen's announcement have anything to do with you leaving? We've just now moved here and there's so much to do and I need you. Why do you have to go now?"

"On the contrary, dear Scarlett, you seem to do splendidly well without me. I've been watching you these past few months, always too busy and too preoccupied with hatching your own little plots, leaving me in the lurch once too often.. well, my darling, your dreams have come true and I'm off before the jolly ride begins-"

There was a sting of bitterness in Rhett's tone that frightened Scarlett more than his cruel barbs. He was leaving her and she had to stop him somehow. As Rhett went upstairs to their bedroom, Scarlett's head began to spin with memories of how often he had asked her to stay with him at Pinegrove and spend time with the children or discuss plans with him or go into town for some meeting or clerical affair. Scarlett had somehow excused herself out of all this and spent more time pouring over her books and customers. Her business was booming but apparently she had neglected Rhett. But what else was he to expect? Any business needed a lot of hard work initially to get things going.

Really, the thing that worried Scarlett the most was she hoped to be pregnant with a new baby. She had consulted Dr. Meade more than once and had been told that it was quite all right to try for a baby. And Scarlett had been very hopeful. She knew that a baby would make a huge difference and it would bring out a softer side in Rhett. But if Rhett was leaving to Charleston, then this would never be.

* * *

Scarlett ran after Rhett, beseeching him about the duration of his travels and when he would be back. But Rhett seemed to take malicious pleasure in giving her extremely vague answers. He looked so distant and cold that Scarlett began to feel very afraid. It was the feeling that began on the night of their vehement discussion about Wade's recital. Rhett had somehow changed and he was going back on his word. He really was planning to leave her a second time and there was nothing Scarlett could do about it. Scarlett tried to summon every tender feeling but Rhett took his horse and rode off to town.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

Scarlett couldn't remember when she feel asleep. But she did remember sitting up in bed and waiting for Rhett. His bags were all packed and arranged by the door and he was going to leave for Charleston in the morning. Scarlett felt queer when he left the house. A dull headache was throbbing her temples and a cold feeling was creeping over her senses. But she pushed her pains aside, determined to confront Rhett and convince him to stay one last time. But how could she make him listen? His mind seemed entirely made up. His face, his form.. they were stone walls which she could not break down with tears or reason. Scarlett at least wanted to know why he was turning so distant all of a sudden. She wanted to know if it was because she was pursuing her dreams of restoring Tara.

The light from the windows began to fade. The air turned colder and Scarlett pulled the blankets up to keep warm. That must have been when her exhausted eyes drooped in clawing sleep.

_She felt her entire body writhing with pain. Dr. Meade was there and so was Melly. Or was it Melly who needed to have the baby? And they had to act fast because the Yankees were coming. And Scarlett wanted to run. She wanted to run to her Mother and to Tara. But she couldn't. Dr. Meade told her to stay with Melly and she had to. Melly wanted her to hold her hand. And everyone all around were whispering and the pain was increasing. And Rhett wasn't there. She kept calling out. Or did she? For some reason her voice was weak and uncertain. She kept swallowing what she was trying to say and no one could understand her words. No one could get Rhett. He was strong and unreachable. Nothing would convince him to stay. He was leaving._

Scarlett sobbed out loud, choking on her tears. Her dreams of the mist were becoming too familiar now. She was sharp enough to sense the warning signs. She peered around in the dark, shivering under the cold dread of utter loneliness. Streams of moonlight were now pouring in through the windows. Rhett hadn't slept in at all. But his bags were still in the corner. He still hadn't left. Scarlett quickly lit a small candle and slipped her trembling feet into her slippers. She stepped out to the hallway and wanted to walk down to the front hall when she saw light burning at the next room. She walked inside and to her surprise found Rhett lounging there. He was sitting by the window in his dressing gown, draining the remnants of brandy in his glass. He threw her a cursory glance, not conveying any emotion.

"What are you doing here?" asked Scarlett, quietly.

"I came an hour ago." replied Rhett, pouring himself another drink from the nearby decanter. "I was going to turn in when I heard you crying out in your sleep. But I decided to leave you alone. I knew you would get over it as you usually seemed to and I was right. You seem fine now. " He gave a faint, sardonic smile. "Although these eternal fears of starvation do seem a little strange. You've been rich enough for a long time. I wonder why your mind still isn't persuaded-"

Scarlett could sense the aloofness in his tone and manners. Something had definitely changed and it definitely had to do with Suellen's visit and the plan to restore Tara. She had promised Rhett that she would never embark on sharecropping and now she had manipulated her way into it. And he was a cool stranger now. He didn't care any more. Her eyes ran over him. There was nothing she could say to stir emotion into those smooth black eyes. Scarlett began to turn away.

"Or could it be that a full stomach and purses of money aren't enough to soothe away your fears?" Rhett laughed to himself. It was an empty, bitter laugh. It sent shivers through Scarlett's spine. Unwillingly, she lingered at the doorway.

"Why don't you say it?" egged on Rhett, bitingly. "Are you afraid that you might become the object of your own contempt?"

"I.. I don't know what you mean." mumbled Scarlett.

"I'm sure you do. When I married you, I thought your screams had something to do with hunger. You were so sure of it yourself that you convinced me. Although, you did cry after eating that huge crawfish. I should have wondered then. But I brushed it aside. But after so many years of parties and expensive buffets and dresses. Why, even your grand plans for Tara seem to be coming true. Why then do you still cry?"

Rhett laughed again and looked straight at her. A look that seemed to cut right into the back of her mind. "There was safety in those old days, wasn't there?"

Scarlett didn't make a reply but she could feel his gaze heavily upon her. As if he was right then reading her thoughts.

Rhett poured her a drink and pushed out a chair for her to sit. "Come, have a drink. You look like you need it."

Scarlett hesitated and then approached the chair and the little round table. She reached for the glass of brandy and drank its stinging contents.

"Do you know what is wrong with you, Mrs. Butler? You cry, wail like a little baby in your sleep because you are scared of being alone. You want someone to keep you safe and your forever running through the damn, blinding mist. But did it ever occur to you that there are other people besides you who might feel the same way. That they might want to feel safe around you? Hell, no! You are too much of a fool to understand it. You are too much of a fool to even admit your own fears-"

"Did you hear me crying out-" began Scarlett, her pride stung.

"Yes, I did." yelled Rhett, roughly. "I heard you crying out for me. But if you think that I am going to take you up in my arms and comfort you, you're wrong. I am not making that mistake again. No, you are far too strong and capable for that! You wouldn't understand that kind of love. Not yet anyway-"

"Are you being so hateful because I'm restoring Tara? Is it because I've broken my promise-"

"Your promise!" jeered Rhett, scornfully. "When did I ever give a damn about your promise? I know you too well. I know that Tara has been on your mind since the first day I returned from Charleston." He raised his glass mockingly. "And so, Scarlett O Hara embarks on her bull-headed scheme to restore her father's plantation."

"Oh, Rhett- why do you sound so cold. Why do you say such hurting things?" appeased Scarlett. "I love this house that you are building and the children love you for it as well. And we are starting a new life together. Why do you talk as if nothing has changed at all."

"Nothing has changed."

"But I have changed."

"No more than your spots. Yes, you have forgiven me for all the wrong I did to you and you have looked so sweet and pretty, night after night. But you've always looked sweet and pretty,my dear, and your mind remains rigid and cold as a blade of steel. "

Scarlett's eyes began to well with tears.

"Now, don't cry before me. I couldn't bear it." said Rhett, rising to his feet.

"Rhett, it's true. I do feel safe with you. I am terrified of being alone!" burst out Scarlett, in despair. "But when you speak such nasty words- Oh, how can I show myself as weak if you jeer at me so cruelly? How could I act vulnerable when you are so strong and sure of yourself. You aren't afraid of anything. You aren't afraid of loneliness. You've always had those women to keep you happy-"

As soon as Scarlett said those words, she felt an invisible slap upon her face. Rhett hadn't touched her but she felt a queer, sting of rebuke for her hasty words. Rhett's face darkened but instead of rising to the challenge, he gave an odd smile and began to walk away. Scarlett stared after him.

"Don't you understand my fears at all?"

"Understand? My God!" gasped Rhett, as if he wondered how she could ever be so dense. "If you were half as warm as a weak light from the tiniest candle of wax, I would have stayed with you in the first place. But all you think of is yourself. Your own damn fears and you have half-baked ideas to "alleviate" them. What about Wade? What about his fears? What about little Bonnie? You couldn't do a thing to stop her tears. Your own children want to feel safe and they never have around you-"

"But they had all the comforts-"

"Damn comforts and damn money! Did it do anything for you?"

"No it didn't." agreed Scarlett, wretchedly.

"Well, at least you admit it now."

Scarlett reached out and grabbed the crook of his arm. "When I was a child, I do remember the memory of my Mother, tip-toeing past Pa's room. The servants would wake her up in the middle of the night for emergencies and she would get ready so quickly. Her hair would be combed neatly, not a button unlooped on her stiff black taffeta and she would whisper in such a reassuring way. Oh Rhett, Mother was a safe haven. She never did understand me much but she was so responsible and kind. So infinitely gentle and soothing. You could never romp around with her but she'll always be there and she'll have time to answer everybody's questions and needs. She may be unmoving in certain matters, but in the end, her presence was so solid and comforting-"

Scarlett gulped and said, "After Mother's death, I thought I could find those qualities in Ashley but really, I found them in you."

"Did it ever occur to you that I might want the same as well? Beauty isn't everything to make a man want a woman. That is something that you would never understand although I've told you time and time again.. "

"Oh, but I do understand." insisted Scarlett. "I can be as gentle and kind if you let me- "

"Gentleness and kindness aren't rules. You can't learn them like that-"

Scarlett's hand tightened around Rhett's wrist. "Oh, but that's how I've always understood people. I always knew that if I did this and that, I would get such and such a response. I never thought beyond that."

Rhett looked away. "I always knew that everybody had selfish intentions underneath their affections. Everybody knew just how to play their cards right. That's why I didn't care what anyone thought or did. I gambled all day long and made merry at the sporting house at night. I didn't care." Rhett's eyes gave her a tired look. "But then Bonnie came. And she wanted me to be there for her and she told me that my breath smelt nasty. She wanted me to be respectable. A gentleman. The very thing that I laughed at for so many years. It made her feel safe."

"Just as my Mother did." echoed Scarlett, with realization.

"What was once tedious and exacting, now became a responsibility. I had to change for the sake of Bonnie. And when she died, I went back to my old ways. But it wasn't enough anymore. I found I liked the semblance of being a respectable gentleman. There was safety in those old days, a slow charm that was reassuring and soothing. People who worked at one thing all day long and took the time to talk to you just because you belonged to their clan. People who were kind and gentle, mostly because custom and tradition taught them to be so. I once judged them all. Now, I don't care. I'll take even that-"

"Rhett, is that why you loved me?" asked Scarlett, her brow clearing faintly. "If I became kind and gentle, then you would know its real, wouldn't you? Because I would never be a hypocrite there-"

"You would think it was weak and silly."

"Not after you explained everything like you did. I wish you would explain things like this. It isn't easy for me to understand you-"

"You could use your business skills and ruthless cunning, steal from the poor and spew lies to restore Tara and I assure you, you will lose both Wade, Ella and anyone else you might love and could ever love you. And you would always feel hunted, always running blindly through the mist. Or you could slow down the pace of your grand plans for Tara, think sensibly and bring about the restoration in a much more old-fashioned way. The way your own father and mother did, in the days long ago. When they plodded on little by little, making gentle rules and taking time with people. Making the world a "safe" place for you and your sisters."

"But I-"

"That is gold, Scarlett. Put on manners , imitation finery and smart tricks are only glister and they won't last."

"We could do this together, Rhett. Why do you have to rush off to Charleston and abroad.. why now when I need you?"

"I cannot stay when you have such grand ideas in competition with Ashley Wilkes and the world. I cannot stay when you have so much to prove! No, you will have to fight it out on your own and I'm sure you will be successful. My hearty congratulations to you."

"Then you do not love me? You are leaving me the second time?" sobbed Scarlett, brokenly.

"No, I will be back. Perhaps in three or five months. You can always write to me."

"Oh, writing isn't enough. Oh, darling ..darling.. is there nothing I can say to make you stay?"

"No, there isn't anything you can say or do."

Scarlett gulped and rubbed away her tears. She drew closer to Rhett. "Then before you go, put your arms around me. You might not find my words soothing, my affections may seem cold and calculated.. but I feel so safe when your arms are around me." Scarlett took his hands in hers and pulled them about her shoulders. She nestled into his chest and for once, listened to his heartbeat.

"Rhett, you smell of brandy and cigar smoke. That is the way Pa used to smell. When I am in your arms, I remember Pa too and how energetic and child-like he was. But you are nothing like Pa. You know more about women than Pa ever did. Pa always treated me more like a son than a daughter. Maybe that's why I never grew up with much sweetness and grace. I thought them to be weaknesses, a waste of time and effort. How was I to know that you wanted those qualities? How am I to show them now if you won't let me? If you won't show a hint of love in your eyes.." Scarlett's hands went up from Rhett's chest to his neck. "Oh, I could kiss you.. I could kiss you and prove to you that I love you-" Slowly, hesitatingly, she pulled herself up to her toes and kissed him. She looked once again into his eyes and still they were a smooth blank. Her lips trembled and she wanted to kiss him again. She inched her head closer and he drew back, just a little, to show his disinterest. "Don't move back-" whispered Scarlett, hoarsely and she pulled his face to hers for another kiss. She wanted him and she must have him. How could he move away when she had so much love to show? How dare he-

For a flickering moment, she thought she imagined his arms tightening about her. She drew back and there was an unmistakable glimmer of passion in his eyes. He did love her! He did want to hold her close. He did want to kiss her. And then the light died out.

Rhett took her face in his hands and said, "I thought I could put my expectations aside and stay with you. When you came to Charleston and after everything you said, I thought I might give it a try. But Scarlett, I am a very, very stubborn man and I find I still want the thing which I wanted the most when I first laid eyes on you."

"What is it?"

"I want your mind. I've already told you that bodies mean nothing to me. But after everything you've said, I realize now that you were talking only of physical surrender. I do not want that. If I wanted your body, I would have made love to you during all those lazy days in England. I couldn't make love to you because your mind is so very strong. You haven't given me your mind-"

"Oh Rhett, I wish you would explain-" replied Scarlett, brokenly. "I can't understand a word you are saying and I am trying so very hard-"

"But I don't know how to explain." replied Rhett. "I'll know it when I see it. But I promise you.. that if you can give me your mind, you shall most certainly have mine and my heart."

Scarlett's eyes were brimming with tears by now. She wished she could press him further but feared risking his contempt.

"And if you tell me that you are afraid" continued Rhett, his voice sinking to a hoarse whisper. "-then remember that I am a hundred times more afraid than you... more afraid than you'll ever be-"

"That's a lie. You're not afraid of anything. All the other men I've known- like little children clinging to my skirts. But not you. You've always been a wall of strength. That.. that's why I loved you. That's why I love you still-"

But Rhett had lost interest in the conversation. Scarlett stared after him, wondering how he could tell such lies. Rhett wasn't afraid of anything. He didn't have anything to be afraid of. She could never get the better of him in any argument, except the one they had at Charleston. She had accused him of deserting her and he'd agreed to it. But now he was unreachable and cold once again.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

The days seemed to fly by for Scarlett. As much as she wanted to puzzle her head over Rhett's parting words, she couldn't. The needs of the store were too demanding and she seemed to be making new clients and friends everyday. They were a mixed lot. Some of them were well-known neighbors who had plantations as old as Tara. Some of them were black foremen who came to look up the merchandise. Some of them were even Yankee farmers who had bought acres of land in hopes of planting their own crops. She wrote letters to Rhett almost every week and he was very prompt in his replies. She wrote to him about the goings-on at Tara, about how a hundred field-hands had arrived and camped at Tara's edge and that portions of land were to be allotted to them by Mr. Westley himself. She wrote about how well Wade was practicing with his new pistol. But there were details she left out such as how well she got along with old Mr. Westley and how often she had visited Twelve Oaks. Rhett's replies were cordial at best and he wrote about his business dealings in Charleston and abroad. So, with this firm established correspondence, Scarlett resigned herself to the present state of her marriage. She no longer bothered about what could have been or who was to blame. Instead she had more pressing matters to attend to.

* * *

Her acquaintance with the old Mr. Westley blossomed into a fine friendship during the early days of sharecropping at Tara. It was not as if Scarlett had put herself forward or grabbed sufficient oppotunites. But the old gentleman seemed drawn entirely on his own to her energy and determination.

It all started this way.

It was the end of the month and time for Scarlett to check up on her books and tally the expenses and how much she owed to whom. Scarlett sat hunched over her desk, her eyebrows knotted in concentration as she rapidly added the figures in her head. Suddenly she jumped hard, hearing a gunshot from close by. She ran to the window and looked out. And there was Wade, striking a firm pose and cocking his new pistol at the far off mark on the tree. He fired again and a bit off wood chipped off the tree bark.

"Wade, be careful where you practice your shooting." called out Scarlett, half-worried and half-pleased that her son was practicing to be such a good marksman. "Some of the servants may be about doing their chores-"

Wade shot back a grin, his face beaming from nearly hitting his target. "Shall I go further into the pines and practice, Mother?" he asked.

"Yes. Yes, I think that would be best." agreed Scarlett, walking back to her office. Just as she settled herself down in the leather chair and leaned over the pages, she heard the sound of carriage wheels on the gravel road outside. "God's nightgown, I'll never get all this work done with so many interruptions!" She handed her diaries to her newly appointed clerk and rushed outside to see who had arrived. And to her extreme surprise and pleasure, it was old Mr. Westley and as usual, his son was with him as well, on his own horse. The old gentleman climbed out with faint difficulty and made a sweeping bow to her. Scarlett dimpled sweetly and quickly invited him inside.

"Mrs. Butler, my son and I were busying ourselves for the last few days at your fine plantation. While, Mr. Benteen has been very kind and obliging, he tells me that you are the head of the O Hara family. And so I said to myself, I must drop in on Mrs. Butler and tell her personally that next week, my lawyers will arrive at the plantation and I will be dividing the plots for my men. And madam, I should like it very much if your presence was there while we did such important work."

"Oh! Why, of course I will be there" gushed Scarlett, her cheeks reddening at being treated with so much courtesy. Actually, she had already made plans to leave for Tara in two days. She had appointed clerks for herself and she intended to devote more time to Tara. She wouldn't have missed the sectioning of the land for the world! But when Mr. Westley was kind enough to drop in just to request her presence, she felt nothing but gratitude for his thoughtfulness. She proudly showed him around her store and he made several appropriate remarks about the choice of goods and the quality of the horses.

"Captain Butler is a very fortunate man for having married such a pretty and smart woman. I see so many ladies and they live quiet lives, never voicing their opinions or having ambitions other than raising their children right and putting them in colleges. You madam, are a refreshing change from the ladies I've seen."

"Why, thank you, Mr. Westley" said Scarlett, her face brightening up immensely. She decided she liked the old gentleman very much. But his son on the other hand seemed intent on appearing aloof and boorish. Scarlett noticed the smirk on his face when the old Mr. Westley made the remark about her good business sense. But Scarlett ignored Henry Westley. She didn't find him charming and that sealed matters for him. She wouldn't care two bits about pleasing him.

"Now, Mr. Wilkes on the other hand. Let me tell you, madam, that when I first saw Twelve Oaks, I said to myself, now there's a fine piece of land to work on and bring it back to its glory days. And while the work is going steady and strong, it isn't going as smoothly as I planned for it to be. What I mean is, Mr. Wilkes is quite rigid and unimaginative in certain matters as to how to deal with my men. They need a strong hand, a firm hand to show them who the owner is. And Mr. Wilkes doesn't make the cut as a figure of authority."

"Oh, Mr. Westley, you don't know how right you are!" exclaimed Scarlett, thrilled at finding an equivalent to her own line of thinking. "Mr. Wilkes worked for me when I had the saw mills and he couldn't get much work done out of the convicts I had leased. He is quite old-fashioned when it comes to practical matters-"

"Yes and he doesn't seem to realize that if he doesn't charge high enough for the farming tools that my men are using, he might not make a profit out of sharecropping." Mr. Westley cocked an eye at Scarlett. "I hope, madam, that you wouldn't make the same mistake because I heard that you were renting your fine horses and carts at a very low price and I was concerned."

Scarlett could have melted upon hearing these words. They seemed music to her ears. Finally, here was a man who could appreciate her way of thinking. And he gave her so much respect. So much more than Rhett ever gave her.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

Mr. Westley arrived with his lawyers at Tara and together with Scarlett and Will Benteen, they walked the length and breadth of the plantation, measuring off plots of land. While most of the black field-hands were quite naïve about legal matters and contracts, there was one elderly black man in his early seventies, a former house servant to an extremely wealthy Southern family, Elijah who accompanied the lawyers everywhere. He represented the entire black workforce and with good reason. Elijah could read and write as well as any white man and he possessed a keen eye for details. His family was the largest, counting fifteen in number - four sons, old enough to be in their forties and late thirties and the rest, daughters who had long since been freed from their services as maids and nurses and sent to schools for basic education. Elijah was most courteous to Scarlett and Will, almost behaving like a gentleman himself. Scarlett realized that it must be because he had remained in the services of his wealthy white master. Slaves from ancient Southern families, always seemed to have polished manners, as if they were one of the family. Mammy was one such slave. She had belonged to the Robillards and even now, she had excellent manners, was extremely trust-worthy and honest.

The contracts were drawn and signed at around five in the evening. Scarlett enjoyed herself thoroughly, sitting right beside the lawyers and studying the process of sharecropping. In fact, if it wasn't for Will, she might have missed her lunch altogether. The house and a good portion of land surrounding it were under Will's control. The rest, the vast land that stretched to the dried out pines and sparse greenery was portioned amongst the black workers. Each family had some acres of land and they were responsible for every farming activity on it. Scarlett carefully explained to Elijah and his four sons about the prices in hiring her horses and carts for farming at Tara. She had raised the prices considerably but the blacks seemed inclined to take her merchandise since she didn't insist immediate payment .. atleast not until the cotton harvest when the profits would roll in. Elijah agreed and the deal was made. Now, the blacks needed a few days to build their shacks and settle in.

When Mr. Westley finally set out for his carriage, the sun was beginning to set and the red earth of Tara seemed redder than ever. Scarlett gazed out at her father's plantation and memories of cotton waving in the wind filled her mind. She was extremely grateful to Mr. Westley for letting her watch him work. The reason why Mr. Westley impressed her was not his charm or wealth but that he was managing nearly fifty people under him. Scarlett could envision herself in that role. She could get so much work done and it would absorb all of her natural talents. But she had a lot to learn! So far, the most she had to do was manage the sawmills with Ashley and Johnnie Galleghar. And she had enough trouble with both. She wondered how Mr. Westley managed his affairs so smoothly. That's why he must be such a good business-man!

Her eyes fell on the blacks who were now building bonfires to keep warm. A hundred of them! God's nightgown! Just like the old days! "They'll be singing as they ride in on their carts from the fields!" Then Scarlett stiffened lightly for she was just now taking a closer look at the black field-hands. Until then. she had been so wrapped up in legal affairs that she never took much notice of the field hands. But now when she really saw them, it immediately struck her that they looked vastly different from her own father's slaves.

Pa's field-hands weren't tight-muscled but they were a harmless lot, complacent, good-humored and predictably small-minded. But these field-hands looked different. The men were brawny and frowned a good deal. The women looked hassled and the children were thin and malnourished. Most of them were reunited families, been brought together by kindly white folk. And now these new families had to strive together in the brave new world. As Scarlett looked closely, most of the men looked tired, almost arrogant. They didn't sing. They didn't even talk much. Scarlett guessed that this must be because they were confused about their own free rights. She shrugged her shoulders in thought.

"They are a desperate lot, aren't they?" asked Mr. Westley from beside her.

Scarlett replied, "They certainly look different from Pa's slaves-"

"Well, these blacks are free-men and they expect to be treated like free-men. After the war, they occupied their master's lands and had to be driven out under the orders of the president. Now, their masters won't take them back and they have nowhere else to go. I went all around the South, collecting such blacks and finding their families. I have done so much for them and they still distrust me. Do you know why, Mrs. Butler?"

"Why?"

Mr. Westley laughed. "Because now they really have to work for a living. Before we used to provide them with food and shelter and clothing. We took care of their babies and put their children in suitable occupations. We took them under our care like babies and they didn't want out care. So, now they are suffering for it. I say, let them find out how hard it is to run a plantation. Let them work their way up. We had to work, didn't we?"

"Oh, I remember days when I used to leave at daybreak for Frank's store and return only after nightfall. Those were the days I worked hard, like a machine and saved all my money to sustain my family"

"Exactly! Let our blacks do the same. Then they'd know how difficult it is to settle down in life. Let them earn their success."

With this parting shot, Mr. Westley raised his hat to Scarlett and left for his carriage.

* * *

Scarlett lingered for a long time in the fields. She watched the carriages leave and with a smile on her face, she began to walk down the trail to the house. As she walked, she tripped over a loose rock and her slipper went flying to the side. She gingerly rubbed at her ankle and limped to retrieve her slipper when she saw three black fellows leaning on the nearby fence and watching her. All three had insolent expression on her faces and they didn't seem inclined to help her at all. She frowned at them as she pulled on her slipper but her cold gaze didn't seem to have any effect. Finally she shouted,

"What are you boys staring at? Don't you have work to do?"

As soon as she said the words, all three of the blacks ran up to her, towering over her like dark pines. Scarlett stood her ground with them for she had seen enough field-hands to since her childhood. These boys won't be any different.

"Our apologies, Miss. Scarlett." began one of them, taking off his hat and holding it in his hands. "But Cotton here was just saying that you are the first prettiest Miss we've ever worked for-"

"Aaah, don't put me down in front of the lady, Cobbs." whined Cotton, instantly. He turned grave eyes on Scarlett. "Excuse me, Ma'am, Cobbs just got no manners. He just speaks whatever comes to his mind!"

"Oh yeah? Well Miss. Scarlett believes my words cause I am dressed better than you. Look at you, all covered in rags like a poor, homeless boy-"

"Oh and you've got piles of gold in your shack, have you?"

Scarlett stared at each fellow, first in confusion at their non-stop prattle and then she began to smile. She couldn't help smiling for they were seriously ribbing each other, as if vying for her attention.

"Now, stop your fussing! Stop you fussing!" cried Scarlett, in an attempt to restore order. "Now, I've got your name right.. Cobbs, isn't it?"

"Yes, Miss. Scarlett."

"And these are your brothers?"

"Oh no, Miss.. This lazy cow ain't my brother. This is Cotton. His real name's Bora but he came to Virginia when he was five years old and they named him Cotton cause that's what he was supposed to do. He's been weeding cotton since then. Only now he's been promoted to something important. He don't have to weed cotton but he tells others to do it."

"Yes and what about him?" gestured Scarlett with a smile to the third boy who stood looking rather shy.

"That's my own brother, Boy. He don't remember his name and everyone's been calling him boy.. like here,boy! fetch that, boy, see here, boy- So, he's called Boy! Me and Cotton told him to change it to something else like Jackson or Thomas. Those are nice sounding names and everyone's changing their names now. But he just won't listen. It's going to look mighty silly when he reaches forty and everybody still calls him "Boy"-" Cobbs struck a pose. "Now, I am the wisest of the lot. As soon as the war got over, I took on my owner's surname. I became Will Cobbs - William Cobbs, a fine name for a freedman."

"Well, now.. Cobbs, Cotton and Boy - don't you fellows have work to do?"

"Miss. Scarlett, we are the best workers in Mr. Westley's care. We are his right-hand men. And we are just waiting for the lot to settle down and set up their homes and things. Once the ploughing begins, we will manage those field-hands for you. You don't have to worry about a thing!

"You mean, you're all foremen?" asked Scarlett, surprised. "How old are you all?"

"I am 20, Miss. Scarlett" said Cobbs. "And Cotton is 23 and Boy just don't know his age. I reckon he's around 18. I'm not sure."

"Well, you can stop playing games, Cobbs. No field-hand becomes foreman in just twenty years."

"Well, we don't know what we are. But Mr. Westley depends on us a lot. We manage everything for him-"

Boy spoke up for the first time. "Mr. Westley likes us cause we have big dreams. We three are gonna work hard until we get houses to live in, just the same as you white folks. Not just pore old houses with patched up roofings and small windows. But real big houses with big windows and lots of rooms. We're each gonna buy a plot of land and have horses and barns. We'll grow our own gardens and dress up in fine suits like the gentlemen do and we'll ride in carriages to church!"

"Yes, Ma'am- and when we get married, our wives don't have to work for no families. They will sit right at home, free as birds and our children will go to them public schools and learn to read and write-"

"And when they grow older, they will go to work, same as white folks sons- in banks and hospitals and schools. We three are prepared to work very hard until we can make our pots of gold,Ma'am. And Mr. Westley's promised us just the same. We are special to him."

Scarlett looked at each of them. She saw sincerity, a queer longing which seemed strangely familiar. That was the way she herself had looked when she married Frank and started her store and mills. But these were blacks. All the slaves she had known, Pork, Dilcey, Uncle Henry.. they were all faithful and loyal but they never had such ambitions or dreams. All they wanted to do was to serve and serve and never expect anything more than some money and maybe gifts like cigars or pocket watches. They never had high ambitions like this. And suddenly she decided she liked these high-spirited boys very much. She liked them so much that she almost felt instinctively responsible to protect and nurture their dreams.

"Well, that's the way, we white folks built our plantations and our houses. See you fellows around and don't let me catch you idling your time away-"


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

"Look at them! A queer, morose, tight-lipped, disgruntled lot! Even if I try to be friendly, they throw glances at each other and avert their eyes as if I were some heinous monster! The more I see of them, the more I wonder if they would be half as good as Pa's own slaves!"

Ashley's eyebrows rose with consternation at the bitterness in Scarlett's words. He looked at her and found her staring worried and cross at the blacks who were bending under the sun, sowing and watering cotton seeds. Scarlett was a frequent caller at Twelve Oaks and every time she paid her visit, she observed the blacks under Ashley's supervision and compared them with her own men. She concluded during her third visit that they were all equally spiritless and discontented and that perhaps Mr. Westley had played an underhanded trick in unloading such workers for the plantations.

"After all, he must make a profit somewhere too-" she concluded, shrewdly yet condescendingly.

"Dear Scarlett!" gasped Ashley, shocked by her insinuations. "I fear you are wrong and hasty in your conclusions. Many of these workers have been recently re-united with their estranged families and they had been evicted from their master's land. Now, in a new confusing world of free rights and with lack of skills, they are struggling to survive. Their only hope is that we can restore the old, familiar system-"

"What do you mean?" asked Scarlett, her eyebrows running together in a black frown.

"You see the spot over there, by the trees, I plan to build a row of sturdy shacks there, one for each family, just like it was before the war. And behind every shack, I shall provide a patch of garden so that the women can grow their own vegetables."

Scarlett gazed at Ashley in speechless outrage. "Oh, he was still very much a child!" she thought, in rising disillusion. "Jane Westley hasn't done a thing to bring Ashley out of his impractical shell!"

"Ashley, these are free blacks. The only reason they've agreed to our sharecropping contracts is so that they can have their own patch of land and make money off the crops during the harvest. All that they are interested in is money. They do not want to be sheltered and fed. They do not want to live under the authority of the plantation owners. Don't you understand? They will never appreciate what you are doing for them! In fact, they will probably misuse your goodness and think that you are soft-hearted. They will take advantage, Ashley. You will turn them into a lazy bunch!"

Ashley returned a other-worldly smile. "Oh Scarlett, we have survived the days of war and God has blessed us with plenty. Surely, we could afford to be a little more generous now? No, darling- I have a vision and I believe that I can manage these men if I can bring back the days of old."

Ashley continued to speak and show her around Twelve Oaks. But Scarlett hardly listened. She feared she might lose her temper altogether if she did. Perhaps Ashley thought her cold-hearted and calculating. But in reality, Scarlett was depressed that she could no longer establish a rapport with the blacks.

Previously, however much work she exhorted from her black servants, she also kept a warm appreciation for them in her heart and she never failed to tell them of how much she valued their presence. Perhaps that is why they clung loyally to her. Mammy, Pork, Dilcey, Prissy, Big Sam and even Uncle Peter- Scarlett worked them hard but she always treated them right and she depended on them as if they were her own family. She took their words seriously, she respected their feelings, she trusted them implicitly. But these new workers would hardly acknowledge her presence. It seemed that they were in it for the money and that's all. This hurt Scarlett the most for she was used to seeing smiling faces amidst the hardest labor.

The world had changed and she had to bring Tara back to its former glory. But she couldn't do it by being generous with these new blacks. She couldn't deal severely with them either. Instead, the only way to keep them under her authority was to keep a firm hold on the money. She would charge them for everything. Only then, they would understand the new meaning of free rights. Only then they would value their labor. Ashley was wrong to bestow his workers with free food and free shelter. That would only spoil them. He would never make a profit out of sharecropping!

Scarlett shared her disappointments with Will who listened to her with an impartial, practical ear. From the first day, he had an unfathomable understanding of her true reasons behind sharecropping. He somehow knew that she was envious of Ashley's good fortune and sought to capitalize on his opportunities. He also somehow knew that she was obsessed by the idea of restoring Tara. So, he did some inquiry by himself and soon came back with an answer. He discovered that most of the blacks, although freemen, were somehow already indebted to Mr. Westley. He couldn't get the details out of any of them for they seemed to be filled with shame and suspicion whenever Will asked too many personal questions. The only person who seemed inclined to talk was crusty old Elijah.

When he conveyed this to Scarlett, she felt mildly consoled. Oh, so these fellows already owed some money to Mr. Westley! She didn't know that.

"Well, they could always make it back over their farming at Tara, can't they?" she questioned, irritably to Will.

"Perhaps, they are afraid that their profits won't be enough. Perhaps, that is why they are so suspicious-"

"Nonsense!" snapped Scarlett, ill-tempered. "All I can say is, this poor attitude of theirs is causing them to lose footing with me. Why, in the years gone by, the slaves used to depend on us not just for money and comforts, but for their own sense of worth. They trusted us as much as we trusted them. But if they are going to suspect us of ill-dealings at every turn then, they would find out that I can be just as stern and unmoving- especially in matters of money. When I first started my sawmills, there was so much competition. And I had to work against all odds, night and day to make a decent profit. It seems only I cherish those memories. Everybody else seems to have forgotten about it!"

Scarlett walked out to the porch with this parting shot. Will stared after her, knowing that she was thinking of Ashley Wilkes.

* * *

Scarlett was indeed thinking of Ashley Wilkes. Now and then she felt odd pangs of hurt. The day when Rhett had taken her to Twelve Oaks and when the Westley's had arrived for tea, Ashley introduced and spoke of Scarlett to Jane as if she were still Gerald O Hara's sweet, innocent eldest daughter who had spent the best of her childhood days at Ashley's Twelve Oaks and with Ashley himself. Ashley never mentioned how she had saved Melanie or how she had supported them all those years with her earnings from the Kennedy store after the war. Ashley conveniently left out those details and portrayed Scarlett as if she was a giddy, vivacious belle of the South. This was not how Scarlett saw herself. Not now anyway. Not after Melanie's death and her final realization of Ashley's true nature. She now saw herself as the strong, business-minded Mrs. Butler who had the respect of her husband and her children and could very well manage a hundred field-hands.

But Ashley portrayed her differently and that bothered her.

It also bothered her that Ashley was quite transparent in his affections for Jane. Deep down, she harbored the strong suspicion that Ashley loved Jane only because she came from a well-known, well-respected, authentic Southern family. Scarlett herself was only partly a Robillard descendant. Her father was Irish and not an authentic Southern gentleman, although he had won the hearts of many friends and neighbors. She felt this distinction when she was with Jane and Ashley. And she felt hurt. If only Ashley would be more open about how much she had done for the Wilkeses! Then the Westley's would think highly of Scarlett and her family.

Scarlett kept these delicate feelings in her heart for she couldn't share them with anyone - not even Rhett. He would never understand her sadness or confusion. He would only make exacting judgments and clever quips which Scarlett could never understand nor refute.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

Scarlett did not fully comprehend the ramifications of her actions in abruptly raising the prices of her merchandise, until she found some white farmers angrily mobbing outside her store. They were not from Clayton County but evidently they depended on Scarlett's carts and horses a great deal. They stood for a length of time in the hot sun, hurling bitter accusations at her and her store. They couldn't afford to rent her merchandise at such high prices and they had begun their farming on the understanding that the rates would remain the same. Now that planting season had begun, they couldn't waste time looking for lesser-priced horses and the hike in rates would ground them in further debts! Scarlett listened to their seething words with high impatience. What did she care about these men? What did she care about Georgia's plantations? She only cared about Tara and if they couldn't afford her rates, then it was a real shame. One of the men, out of his wits with anger, took up an axe from nearby and began cutting up one of Scarlett's carts. She instantly pushed the servants and clerks aside and running into the house, she brought out Rhett's pistol. Scarlett fired a shot in the air and the mob finally began to disperse.

**"Get out of my property or I'll send for the police!"** shouted Scarlett after them, her voice trembling with fury. As the shock settled in, her shoulders which had stayed taut and bold for so long began to shake and she ordered for the store to be locked up for the day.

"I don't understand it-" she said as she stumbled into the parlor, dropping the pistol on a desk nearby and collapsing into an armchair. "Why should they react like wild men just because I raised the prices by a few dollars-"

She clutched at her head. "Prissy, fetch my swoon bottle."

"Miss Scarlett" ventured Pork, in his slow, cautious manner. "- there are more pore white farmers down South than before. You just haven't noticed them cause you've lived in the town for so long. These folks are dirt poor although they are too proud to show it-"

Scarlett sipped some brandy and felt a little better. "Pork, go outside and see if you can salvage that cart."

* * *

_"These folks are dirt poor although they are too proud to show it-"_

Pork's words echoed more and more in Scarlett's ear, for the next few weeks, she was receiving regular news of the poverty of the surrounding plantation farmers. Most of white farmers, having lost their farms for unpaid taxes, were now forced to work side by side with the blacks under the wealthy plantation landowners. This startling information was confirmed when news arrived that Cathleen's husband Mr. Hilton, who was formerly the overseer of the Calvert plantation, had approached Ashley Wilkes to work under a sharecropping contract.

"They can't afford black field-hands, Scarlett." said Will, ignoring the flabbergasted look on Scarlett's face. "And without workers, the Calvert plantation has dried up and the soil is exhausted to grow anymore useful crops-"

* * *

The truth finally came out regarding Scarlett's own black field-hands. Most of them had no experience in cotton plantations and they were forced into labor on charges of vagrancy. This explained their sour, discontented faces and lack of spirit to work. Scarlett's constant worrying about the restoration of Tara went well into the night. She wrote to Rhett to send her reliable servants - perhaps his own from Charleston. She needed more help if she were to shuttle back and forth between Pine grove and Tara.

* * *

More disheartening news arrived in the form of letters from Aunt Pitty and her Uncle Carey from Charleston. Aunt Pitty's letter was full of flutterings and vaporings about the Butler's old Peachtree house. The new owners, the notorious Yankee family were actively involved in framing high tariffs and driving several of the oldest Southern families from their plantation homes. She went on to beg Scarlett to visit Atlanta and try and douse the town's rising fury against Captain Butler for his barbarous trick.

Scarlett crushed the letter to a ball and threw it in a corner. She had no intention of running to Atlanta. If Sam Rogers was making a nuisance of himself, then there was nothing Scarlett herself could do about it. Aunt Pitty was being absolutely silly as she usually was.

But the next letter arrived and upset Scarlett further. It was a very strict letter from Uncle Carey, Aunt Pauline's husband. He wanted to know if Scarlett understood that only poor white farmers indulged in sharecropping. Despite what Mr. Westley might have said, for a Robillard descendant to soil her hands in sharecropping was entirely shameful and extremely unwise. He wanted to warn her that with more and more land being rented out, cotton could be over-produced and the drop in rates might spell the end of Tara. That was precisely the reason why he himself never wanted to venture into such a risky business.

This last sentence terrified Scarlett so much that she dispatched another letter to Rhett asking him if there was any truth in Uncle Carey's words. Rhett's letter assured her that her Uncle's prediction was indeed true. Cotton could be over-produced and the rates could drop drastically. Now that people were renting out land and depending upon their landowners for food, machinery and tools, they no longer worked on a variety of crops but locked themselves in cotton. Naturally cotton farming, now aided by cotton gins and other useful inventions would double the number of bales per year and the more the bales, the less the value in the international market.

Scarlett pursed her lips to a thin line when she read these words. Then the idea of cotton gins struck her. Yes, she would buy a cotton gin. And even if cotton rates dropped, she would be safe, since she was the wealthy landowner. The only sufferers would be the tenant blacks and they were already neck-deep in debts.

Scarlett began to fill her father's plantation home with fine machinery, cotton gins, plough-shares and other tools and set prices for them to be rented to her workers.

Her decision to have a working kitchen built just for the workers was met with outrage by Suellen. Much to Scarlett's frustration, she flatly refused to manage it. Suellen couldn't understand how her sister, who was unearthly sweet and generous during the last one month could fall back into the money-minded, bull-headed, ambitious, manipulative sister of old. She couldn't understand why planting season meant so much to Scarlett and she couldn't understand why everyone had to work so hard. Her whining and gripping caused Scarlett a constant headache until she finally decided that she was much better off without Suellen's help and decided to find somebody else.

The angel in the time of Scarlett's need was Elijah's wife. She was old, almost as old as Mammy but she was trustworthy. As much as Scarlett disliked Elijah for his slow, knowing ways, she couldn't refuse when his wife stepped up to offer her services. She had worked as a cook for several years and she knew what to buy and how to cook good solid meals.

* * *

And soon the cotton seeds arrived, in large jute bags and planting season began at Tara.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

Scarlett had never before, in her wildest dreams imagined the outrageous possibility of explaining her financial books to a black workman. But she found herself in engaged in that demeaning obligation once too often that month. Every time she summoned her field-hands and showed them the new machinery and tools that they could rent from her, she found old man Elijah, lumbering along to her little office and asking to see the sum of debts. He was a slow man, patient and thoughtful. And he insisted on seeing Scarlett's books to every last meticulous detail. The first time he came to the house, Scarlett was filled with righteous indignation. Whoever heard of a wealthy landowner explaining tedious financial transactions to an illiterate farmer?

But, Elijah was not illiterate, pointed out Will, carefully. Through sensible, persuasive arguments Will finally convinced Scarlett that it was better that she explained the calculation of debts for they could avoid unnecessary trouble later that fall. With so many confusing labor laws and sharecropping rules, they needed the cooperation of the workers to ensure a smooth, profitable harvest. And so Scarlett, swallowing her pride and anger, sat down almost every week during that crucial planting season, explaining her books to Elijah.

When Scarlett snapped that the man was illiterate, she didn't mean that he couldn't read and write, for she had already seen proof of his abilities during the first day when the land was being sectioned. What she meant was that Elijah wouldn't understand balancing and certain calculations of interest which Scarlett herself found foreign and muddling. But he demanded to see it all and he didn't care if it took all day. There was a formidable workmen crowd backing Elijah and Scarlett could not afford to offend them.

Meanwhile the house-servants found these meetings extremely novel and interesting. Even Mammy, who usually looked down on the employment status of poor field-hands. She abandoned her rigid ideas upon seeing the old black man discussing and asking questions of Scarlett as if he was on equal footing with her, and gave him grudging respect.

But as Scarlett rightly suspected, the more Elijah came to know of her purchases and rates, the more he began to question and negotiate for the welfare of the workers. Scarlett found this the most maddening of all. He acted as their advocate and his arguments were always annoyingly slow and dull - like a blunt knife that works slowly but with enough pressure, makes a small cut. And every meagre adjustment of prices was conveyed across Tara's workers as a small sign of victory.

Normally Scarlett would have kicked up the most awful tantrum for the humiliations she was forced to undergo. But two main reasons kept her lips tightly pursed to a thin line. Firstly, the planation owners indulging in sharecropping were often visited by Yankee authorities who demanded complete transparency in the treatment of the workers. Scarlett had no trouble with the officers, for she could easily appear charming and innocent whenever she chose to be. But as the days wore on, her once-friendly neighbors began spreading the most insinuous rumors of her dealings at Tara. And quite often these rumors reached Yankee ears. While Scarlett was careful to buy the best of machinery, horses and carts, she did cut her costs on other purchases such as food, medicines, clothing and shacks. She bought some poor quality lumber for she felt it was good enough for the workers and the vegetables and fruits that she bought were the gleanings from the common market. She charged well for these commodities for she knew that the blacks couldn't argue in these trifling things. But it did reveal her poor character and once news spread that Ellen O Hara's wealthy eldest daughter was charging such and such for items that could be parted for free, the neighbors wrinkled their noses in shock and disapproval. Very few called on her and the most terrible rumors came to Will and Suellen's ears.

The very fact that Scarlett was extremely wealthy from Captain Butler's fortunes gave the neighbors reason to hate her stringency. She was wealthy enough to hire a hundred field-hands, then she must be generous enough to provide well for them. That was their argument. But Scarlett equally argued that if she provided the best food and the best clothing, these blacks who have been forced into labor for vagrancy charges would exploit her kind nature and turn fat and lazy. No one could refute her on this standpoint and so she remained obstinate and determined as ever and the neighbors continued to hold her in contempt. It did not help matters when two of the babies of the black families died in the night of malnutrition. This could be due to several reasons for the babies and children of the field-workers were already thin and listless. But in the light of everything Scarlett had done, this added to her many sins.

Secondly, Aunt Pitty in the best of intentions had unwittingly conveyed to Scarlett the interesting news that Mr. Rogers was framing tariffs for the cotton farming industry. How convenient that the man should be living in her former house! When Scarlett realized the magnitude of this opportunity, she rode to Atlanta wearing the finest of clothes and paid a very cordial visit to the Yankee family. She portrayed a vivid picture of her vision for the restoration of her father's plantation and how some leniency in the tariffs would do her a world of good. Flattering with delicacy had been a strong forte for Scarlett and she soon succeeded in her efforts.

So, by appealing to a Yankee politician, Scarlett ostracized herself once again from Atlanta society.

* * *

"Miss Scarlett" asked Cobbs one day he led a horse from the fields. "Why is this cart chopped up so severely?" He was pointing of course to the damage done by a poor white farmer the week Scarlett raised her prices. Scarlett related the unsavory incident but in a detached way for it seemed a thing of the past. But evidently Cobbs did not think so.

One evening, as Scarlett was wearing her sun bonnet and supervising the ploughing, she saw Cobbs and Cotton perched ridiculously on a thick-legged mule and riding full-speed down the gravel, waving their hats and hooping for all they were worth.

As they came nearer, Cobbs yelled out, "We took this mule from him,Miss Scarlett. The trash farmer who hacked up your cart. We tracked down that fellow and we roughed him up a bit and he gave us this mule. It's ours now!"

Their shining eyes, gleaming-white teeth and sweat flushed faces, beaming with loyalty and enthusiasm stirred a warmth of feeling in Scarlett's heart. Of all the field-hands she owned, she began to like these three the best.

* * *

Although Mr. Westley no longer visited Tara, Henry Westley did. He rode sullenly and morosely down Tara's path, once every week to make sure that the field-hands weren't giving Scarlett any trouble. Cobbs, Cotton and Boy were extremely attentive to his requests although he seemed to ignore them entirely. When Scarlett asked about this, Cobbs shrugged off her concerns. He mentioned in passing that the old gentleman and his son never got along well as far as he could remember and he didn't know exactly why.

Scarlett despised Henry Westley. He seemed to lack both character and emotion for he was always cross and always as stoic as a rock. But there was one curious incident that made Scarlett rethink this conclusion.

She was travelling up to Pine grove in her carriage one morning and at first she did not recognize young Mr. Westley at all. But there he was , on his horse as always and he looked as if he was arguing long and hard with a black field-worker. Scarlett had seen gentlemen argue before but there was something strange about this sight. It seemed to her as if Mr. Westley wanted to leave and every time he would nudge his horse forward, the black man would yell something and he would come back again to argue with him. This exchange was hardly a banter for Mr. Henry Westley's face was as dark as a thundercloud. He shook his fists and bent low on his horse to look at the field-worker in the eye. But just as he calmed down, his opponent would say something and the fight would begin all over again. Scarlett leaned back into her carriage, not wanting to be spotted by the young man. She found the entire scene to be very odd.

Why should the words of a black field-hand bother Mr. Westley so?

It was the first time she saw him display any emotion and it made her feel extremely queer.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

The Butlers were invited for an evening dinner at the Westley home and since Rhett was in Charleston, Scarlett had to go alone. But she was not in want of company for out of obligation, Mr. Westley had invited Suellen and Will as well. Throughout the journey to Atlanta, Scarlett was entirely preoccupied with the work to be done at Tara. The ploughing and seeding days, the early days of cotton farming were extremely crucial and hard labor was necessary if they were to reap a good harvest. She kept running numbers through her head, calculating how much she owed to which merchant and when each payment was due.

Over the past month, a great deal of change had come over Scarlett. She walked out to the fields everyday and had gotten considerably brown from supervising the work. She relied largely on Cobbs who employed a brash, bull-dog approach to getting back-breaking work done around the farm. He could bully any worker into obedience and he hated Elijah on sight. Scarlett observed this and used it to her advantage. She knew she shouldn't do it. For Cobbs was years younger than Elijah.

"But what else can I do?" argued Scarlett with herself. "That mealy-mouthed old man gets on my nerves, bothering me with particulars when there is so much work to be done across the plantation!"

So, in all her meetings with Elijah thereafter, she made sure that Cobbs was present. Whenever she was about to lose her patience, Cobbs would step in and bully Elijah until the old man couldn't speak another word and had to leave.

Cotton knew everything there was to know about cotton farming. And none of the workers could cheat him. He knew exactly how much the ground should be tilled, the depth of the furrows, the number of seeds and the space between them- Any field-hand who talked back or idled his time under the trees was shaken by the collars and boxed on his ears.

The new code prevented white managers from beating black workmen but it never said much about a black man taking another black man to task.

Boy was quiet in his supervision but he had tireless energy to stand from dawn to dusk, watching over the fields.

Scarlett could have stayed at the house more often since she could most certainly depend on these three hardy fellows but nevertheless, she wanted to be out in Tara's red fields as well. She felt alive and happy when she was out there. When Cobbs, Cotton or Boy saw Scarlett walking out to meet them, they would join her side and chat in the most animated fashion. They would be full of stories of how some troublesome field-hands tried to escape work and how they had been caught. Scarlett would listen with acute interest. She still remembered how she had been cheated by that swindling Mr. Johnson and she never wished to be cheated again. And to have these fellows, flying about her farm and guarding it as if it were their own - why, they were a regular godsend!

"We ain't never seen a Miss who was so interested in all this man's work, Miss Scarlett" chortled Cobbs one evening. "Most of the white ladies prefer to sit in their houses all day and sew things, visit people- But you are so different and you don't just pretend."

"If Miss. Scarlett was a man, she'd be right here with us, ploughing the ground and planting the seeds!" chimed in Cotton, growing bolder since the first day he spoke to Scarlett.

"If I separated woman's work from man's work, why, I would have never survived the war." pointed out Scarlett, smugly. "There is nothing a woman can't do if she puts her mind to it. "

"Miss Scarlett" said Boy. "When I get rich, the first thing I'm going to do is to ride out to your house in my new carriage and treat you to the finest food that money can buy. You don't know how different you are from the rest of the people. When we black folks have big dreams, both black and white folk laugh at us. But you don't. You support us and we are going to make it worth your while, Ma'am-"

Yes, Scarlett had changed a lot over the past month. She wore sturdier clothes and thick bonnets. She was no longer distracted by parties or gatherings. She spent more time visiting dingy offices, haggling over prices, seeing to the delivery of goods, calculating costs and distributing merchandise. And she never felt more alive.

But Scarlett herself realized how much she had changed only that evening when she went to the Westley's dinner party.

* * *

The Westley's lived in a very grand, very traditional antebellum house. The stairs parted to the East and the West wing. On the West wing was a lovely, very informal ballroom, rectangular and elegantly furnished with a grand piano in the side. It was here that Mr. Westley assembled everyone. There were sofas lined in a corner where the families could sit and chat while the younger people played the instrument, sang and entertained the listeners. The Westleys had invited several families - the Meades, the Elsings, the Merriweathers.. they were all present and eagerly conversing with the family.

Nobody spoke much to Scarlett, except for Aunt Pitty. Everybody else only spoke a few sentences, inquiring politely after her health and Captain Butler's health and her dear children. After that they lost interest and moved away.

Scarlett felt the odd pang of hurt but she put up a brave front and smiled charmingly to Mr. Westley and Mrs. Westley. Then her eyes fell on Jane as she walked up to the piano and began to play. She played very well and her voice was as sweet as a lark's. Scarlett watched Ashley walk up to the piano and rest his hand on its gleaming wooden surface. He was evidently admiring Jane. Scarlett could see it in his eyes. That was the way he looked when she first saw him with Melly.

Once long ago, before the war, Scarlett herself had sat at the piano and played songs for listeners. She was then so young and so innocent- a Southern belle. Now she was changed. She no longer found merriment in parties of receptions. All her thoughts were about Tara and about its restoration.

But as Scarlett stared at Ashley and Jane, she couldn't help seeing the love that was so apparent. The glowing softness in Jane's white cheeks, those white fingers that caressed the piano keys so gently, her quiet upturned eyes staring into Ashley's gray ones. The perfect lady and the perfect gentleman. Ashley certainly was very lucky to find such love.. and so soon after Melly's death. He certainly was very fortunate to enter into such a golden partnership with Mr. Westley.

Just as she thought the words, Mr. Westley himself cleared his throat and announced to the gathering that Ashley had asked for Jane's hand in marriage and that she has accepted him. He went on to speak several good things about the Wilkses family.. things that sailed over Scarlett's head for she was busy gazing at the couple. Why everyone loved the Wilkses and good families like the Westleys chose the Wilkses who equaled their status as true Georgians.

Scarlett realized that she couldn't be happy. She should be happy - outrageously happy.. for Ashley's sake. He would no longer be in her hands, tugging at her skirts. She would no longer have to look after him as she promised Melly. But how could Mr. Westley, after observing his sheer incompetence at handling Twelve Oaks, entrust his daughter to him?

Mr. Westley had spoken so ill of Ashley to Scarlett. And now he was declaring the marriage alliance as if Ashley Wilkes was a golden find for Jane.

Scarlett couldn't understand it.

* * *

Scarlett returned home to Tara upset. There was a quiet elegance in the Wilkses and Westley family which she didn't possess. Her house at Peachtree had been very grand and expensive-looking. But it was also a monstrosity. Scarlett had thought that the Southerners would visit her and be green with envy. But in the end, there was only bitterness in that house.

And during that time, Ashley lived in that small, cramped house of his with Melly and Beau. Scarlett sympathized with the Wilkses for they would never be the great family that they once were. But after this evening, perhaps they would. Perhaps, the Wilkses might rise from the ashes and restore Twelve Oaks and build a huge antebellum house just like John Wilkses so many years ago.

Ashley's dreams of the past were coming true. And it was happening so easily for him. It wasn't fair. Life wasn't fair.

It was nearly eleven at night when Scarlett descended from the carriage and trudged down to the house. Will and Suellen followed behind. Suddenly, loud shouting emerged from near the shacks. Scarlett shook herself from her reverie and half-ran along with Will to see what the commotion was all about. One of the doors was open and light was pouring out on the darkened fields. Scarlett ran to the door and saw such a sight before her. Cobbs was hurling Elijah across the floor and Elijah's sons were descending upon Cobbs with a murderous gleam in their eyes.

"The first boy to throw a punch gets kicked out of my farm this very second" yelled Scarlett, in a strong clear voice. Will stepped up in front of her and immediately Cotton and Boy helped up Cobbs. Cobbs's mouth was bleeding but he didn't seem to mind.

"What's going on here?" asked Will.

"The old man's stirring up trouble again" said Cobbs rubbing the blood off on his shirt sleeve. "This time he's going too far-"

"What is it?" asked Will, turning to Elijah.

Elijah, half-shaking from his fall, adjusted his spectacles and peered at Will. He held up something in the hollow of his brown hands. "These seeds.. cotton seeds.. they ain't good."

Will took the seeds from his hands and examined it under the light along with Scarlett. Scarlett clicked her tongue impatiently. "Three bad seeds out of ten isn't uncommon. That's how seeds arrive. It's always that way. You are fussing for nothing-"

"No Ma'am-" replied Elijah, drawing his brows together. "Something is wrong with those seeds. They won't grow!"

Scarlett grew thin-lipped with fuming anger. "Now listen here, I'm telling you they will! You're just stirring up trouble.. after everything I've done for you and your family. You asked for milk, sugar, bread and coffee.. I've provided them all and chicken every Sunday.. I've built you shacks and given you clothing.. and you still grumble and cause trouble- "

Will carefully bundled Scarlett out of the shack. He instructed Boy to take her to the house and he himself stayed back to settle the matter. For once Scarlett was grateful. She was starting to get a splitting headache. The upset at the Westley's dinner party and now this quarrel.. And she couldn't confide in anyone.

Not even Rhett.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

Scarlett drank from the secret bottle of brandy which she kept in her bottommost shelf. Her head still dully throbbed with the headache and although a good night's rest would have lessened the pain, Scarlett decided against it and sat by the window with the lamplight burning. She felt confused and upset. Her old friends and acquaintances, those who had been nice to her during India's wedding, they hardly spoke to her . There was no warmth in their words. Only cold civility. As if she were an unwanted stranger. And there was Ashley.. Ashley who was making such a mess of his sharecropping contract at Twelve Oaks. She'd been there often enough to see the workers slacking off, a row of partially constructed shacks not completed for want of money- Ashley was doing very poorly and everyone seemed to glaze over his faults. In comparison, she was much more successful. Her workers toiled long and hard. She managed them well and was sure of reaping a fine harvest. And her neighbors and friends avoided and spoke ill of her.

Couldn't they understand that all she wanted to do was restore her father's plantation, back to the way it was with its tangled greenery and damp red earth blooming with thick tufts of cotton? She longed to see black hands picking and seeding fluffy bits of cotton in their baskets and carrying into the storehouses where they could be made into bales. Why, Tara was the finest plantation in Clayton County - its lush-green, sloping fields and curving wall of tall black pines.

As she sat there pondering, there was a faint knock on the door.

"Scarlett?" rose Will's voice in the stillness of the night.

She quickly rose up and ran to open the door.

"I figured you wouldn't be asleep."

"What happened out there?" cried Scarlett, sharply. "Did the men go back to their shacks? Did you tell them strictly that if they raise anymore trouble, I'll stay true to my word and send them packing?!"

"Now, don't fly off the handle, Scarlett" said Will, settling himself on the chair. "Everything's all right for now. I pacified old Elijah and sent his sons to their huts. Cobbs is nursing a wound but its nothing that won't heal itself in a day or two. But I think this time those boys are raising a fuss for a good reason-"

"You are joking!"

"Well, I was there when they delivered the cotton seed and there wasn't anything wrong with them before. Not even three out of ten. But the seeds have gone bad now. " Will stared calmly out the window perfectly ignoring the incredulous look on Scarlett's face.

"God's nightgown, three bad seeds out of ten is normal. You know it better than anybody else."

"True" agreed Will. "Oh well, I'll just post a couple of blacks.. maybe Boy or Cotton just to make sure no one tries anything funny. I love Tara as much as you Scarlett and I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to it"

He got up and limped out the door. Scarlett watching his pink haired head disappear into the darkness of the stairs, still unable to make sense of Will's quiet words.

* * *

As soon as the morning light seeped in through the curtains, Scarlett slipped out of her mahogany bed and dressed quickly to go out to the fields. The air was fresh and sweet with the fragrant honeysuckle wafting in the breeze. She pulled a woolen shawl around her shoulders and walked towards the direction of a few workers who were seeding the ground.

"Here, you there- woman.. show me your hand" called out Scarlett. The black woman approached her and opened her palm. Scarlett inspected the seeds. Strange! Nearly half the seeds were pale grayish and gone bad.

"Why can't you throw out these bad ones and continue your sowing?" she demanded, irritably.

"They are all like this, Miss." shrugged the woman, blankly.

Scarlett nodded her away and slowly scanned the vast red expanse of Tara. The freshly dug furrows smelt raw and sweet. But suddenly a chill ran down her spine. Underneath those silent furrows, just how many bad seeds were sown? She gazed intensely but Tara's ground remained secretive and silent.

* * *

By mid-morning, Clayton County was bustling with news. A man's body had been found, face down in a roadside ditch. A black man. From the deep cut on his neck, he was attacked with a large axe. The police were knocking and questioning the folks living in the surrounding houses and farms.

The news reached Tara by noon and soon there were policemen crowding at the white-washed plantation house.

"He was one of the foremen working at the Twelve Oaks cotton farm. He must have been attacked last night. When the locals found him, his face was already bloated but we could recognize some of his features. He was a short, thick-chested fellow, a bit of a trouble-maker-"

"Something queer about the way his right arm dangled from his shoulders?" asked Scarlett.

"Why,yes. The fellow had dislocated his right arm during the war and they set it right a day later. He could never get back the use of it. Have you seen this man in Tara, Ma'am?"

"No" replied Scarlett. "And I can speak for my boys as well. We have never seen that man around here. I remember him because I saw him when I was travelling down the road towards Atlanta. It was near Twelve Oaks. He was arguing with young Mr. Westley."

"I see."

When the round of enquiries were over, the police officer stood up to leave. But just as he reached the door, Elijah entered from the fields with a cloth bundle of seeds in his hands.

"Excuse me, Sir. Now that you are here, you might as well have a look into this-"

Scarlett's face twisted with fury and she opened her mouth in scorn when Will laid a restraining hand on her arm and led the policeman and Elijah outside. The policeman listened to everything Elijah had to say but he finally replied that cases of this sort would be handled only be other authorities and he vowed to send some officers to Tara to investigate the matter. Scarlett shivered in helpless rage as she listened to these words through the window. She heartily wished that the murderous assailant had hacked Elijah's bony neck instead of that black foreman. Oh, Why couldn't God have taken this old man out of her hands?

* * *

It didn't take long for the news of the murder to spread all the way to Atlanta for by nightfall, Mr. Westley was speeding down the countryside towards Twelve Oaks and after a brief chat with the police, he changed his course and dropped by for a visit to Tara.

"This is bad business, this murder.. Abe was a trouble-maker but he didn't deserve to die for it" said Mr. Westley, wiping his forehead with a handkerchief. "And now the police are swarming around the plantation. A black man's death just isn't taken lightly.. not after the Klu Klux Klan.. Every death is treated with high suspicion. But it can't be helped. Cotton farming at Twelve Oaks will just have to wait until the murderer is found."

"I do feel sorry for poor Mr. Wilkes. He must be terribly worried over this nasty turn of events" said Scarlett, sounding worried and concerned. She turned away, twisting her fingers as if she was in great pain.

"Well, don't you worry, Ma'am. I am much pleased with Tara here. You've got my boys up and running and I just know that the fall will bring a fine cotton crop-"

"Oh, it isn't that, Mr. Westley. I.. I suppose Mr. Wilkes just couldn't handle those black men under his charge. You said so once before. He was so bent on restoring the old plantation system. I warned him. I told him that if he provided free food and free shelter, he would just spoil his men and they would exploit his kindness." Scarlett tilted her face as if she was weighed down by sadness. "But Ashley never listens. You see, Mr. Westley.. he never was very good at extracting work out of people. I'm not just saying that because.. well, because you see, he worked for me."

"He did?" asked Mr. Westley in genuine surprise.

"Yes, I-" Scarlett faltered in her words, in feminine delicacy.

"Do go on, Mrs. Butler."

"It was after the war. He worked for me as one of my mill managers. I worked two saw mills and well, I did tell Ashley to keep a tight hand on those convicts. But he never could manage them properly." Scarlett hesitated, but there was a malicious gleam in her eyes. "I believe a worker died in the mill-"

"A murder?"

"Well, no- We never found out."

Scarlett knew very well that the convict had died from being worked to death by Johnnie Galleghar but she was not about to admit anything. She consoled herself that she wasn't telling outright lies. She was merely hinting things to keep away the competition.

"Only now Ashley has saved up enough money to enter this partnership with you Mr. Westley and I am very grateful that he did. I thought he would never recover after the horrors of the war. He and his wife, Melanie stayed with us at Tara.. for years until Ashley could finally support Melanie-"

"He stayed on charity?"

Scarlett blushed and remained quiet.

"I see." said Mr. Westley, a change coming over his white-bearded face. "Well, well.. the war was a very trying time for several of us." He harrumphed uncomfortably. "I better take my leave, Mrs. Butler. I must make it back to Atlanta for an important engagement. But I shall visit again soon." He gallantly kissed her hand and with a bow to the others, he left for his carriage. Scarlett stared after him, her green eyes gleaming like hard emeralds. If no one would remember how much she had done for the Wilkeses and if Ashley himself wouldn't recollect how much he owed her, then she would blow her own trumpet and tell everyone of the truth. She deserved that much at least.

* * *

After midnight, when every light was turned out and every man, woman and child were asleep, a figure slinked down the shadows towards the shed where the seeds were kept. Some powders were dissolved in a small barrel, making a solution that could burn the life out of a healthy seed. The seeds would dry out by morning. By morning, no one will ever know.


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

Two months flew by. The hard days were over and the field-hands could rest awhile until the time for harvest. Then long toil would begin again of picking cotton, seeding cotton and packing them into bales. During the one month of rest, Scarlett spent more time in her Pine grove store. But even business at the store was going through a lull period for farmers everywhere were waiting anxiously for a good harvest. The weather was promising. There was always a faint drizzle and the air was almost always misty. Wade was home for the holidays and his tree house was finally being completed in their wild, untamed backyard. So, when she had nothing better to do, Scarlett wondered about Rhett. There had been no letter from him for a month and she suspected that he must be abroad. If he were in town, she could attend receptions and dances. She was quite free for those things now. She wouldn't mind dressing up in a lovely ball gown and riding out in her carriage alongside Rhett and meeting and greeting everyone.

She loved Pine grove house. She loved it better than her old house at Peachtree street. For one thing, her house was surrounded by tall black pines, just like the pines hemming the outskirts of her beloved Tara. The country air was fresh and sweet too. Here she could keep a vegetable garden and grow sweet potatoes, radishes, carrots and peas. She could keep a farm with chickens and pigs. Rhett had sent her enough servants to manage the place. In truth, Scarlett not only missed Rhett but she also missed female companionship. She missed Melly and thought of her often. And when she was very much alone, she thought of Bonnie too.

* * *

Scarlett had slept late that day and after shooing away Prissy for the third time, she finally dragged herself out of bed in a sleepy daze. At first she hardly saw the bags tossed on a nearby armchair. But when she did, she knew that Rhett had come at last. She got ready quickly and ran down the stairs in search of Rhett. Where was he? Did he leave to town? She saw his shoes in the front hall. His ridiculously small leather shoes. Why, he was still here. He must be outside. Scarlett drew the shawl tightly about her neck and ran out in the misty morning air.

There they were, all three of them. Wade and Ella were climbing up the wooden ladder and proudly showing off their new treehouse to Rhett and he was stretching out on the grass, grinning broadly at them. When his eyes fell on Scarlett, the grin lessened. "Hallo" he said, nodding once to her. "Your children have been showing me their new treehouse. They keep telling me to climb after them but if I do, I'm sure that either two things will happen. Either I shall come crashing down or the treehouse will and I don't think Wade and Ella would like either outcomes.

Scarlett stood where she was, hardly sure of what to say or do since they had parted on such strange terms so many months ago. Rhett had been terribly mysterious and Scarlett had been apologetic although all her placating words were spoken in vain. She had missed Rhett terribly and now that he was finally back, she didn't know what to say. She longed to tell him about Tara but she wasn't sure if he would be interested.

"Sit down" said Rhett, patting to a patch of green grass near him. "Have you had your breakfast?"

"No." said Scarlett. She stared hesitantly at the dewy grass and Rhett reading her expression, took out his handkerchief and spread it on the grass. Scarlett smiled and sat down. "No I haven't eaten a thing. I saw your bags and I knew you had come-"

"And you came rushing out here to see me." completed Rhett. "Well, I am flattered by your felicity." He looked up and called out to Wade. "Why don't you show me how well you can aim with your pistol?"

"Oh Wade has been practicing everyday, Rhett." effused Scarlett, eagerly. "At first I was frightened.. worried. I felt he was far too young to handle a pistol. But he's gotten very good at it!"

Wade ran into the house to fetch his pistol and an awkward silence fell between Scarlett and Rhett. She felt far too hurt that he wouldn't listen with interest to anything that's happened at Tara that she avoided speaking of it at all. Now that he was there, sitting before her, brown skin, dark eyes, gleaming white teeth and all, she was beginning to remember all the sarcastic things he had said just before he left. And she suddenly hated him for putting her through so many emotions.

"I hear Ashley is to marry Miss. Westley at the end of the year-"

"Who told you that?"

"Henry Westley did." Rhett laughed. "Don't look so shocked. I was in town the last two days. I had some business to attend to and after my tedious meetings, I went to the local saloon for a drink and Mr. Westley graciously joined me-"

"Oh, I hate that man. He keeps coming to Tara to keep an eye on things but really, he is as entertaining as a piece of cardboard."

Rhett laughed at this. "Not everyone possesses your excessive charm, my pet. I admit the man is a little boorish and perhaps not the friendliest of the masculine gender. But don't forget, I've known his family since the war and I know Henry rather well. He has a particularly queer problem on his hands that I fear no one will understand or sympathize with. Poor fellow, no wonder he finds solace in whisky-"

"Well, he must have been utterly drunk, the way he raved like a mad bull after that black foreman. Oh Rhett, there's been a murder at the County! I know I should have written about it, but I was so busy for the past one month-"

"Yes, I heard about the murder. Your Aunt Pitty told me. Do they know who did it?"

"No. The police have almost given up. They no longer think it was a white man who killed him. So, naturally they have lost interest."

Wade ran up to them and put his hand on Rhett's arm. "Come on, Uncle Rhett. Let me show you how well I can shoot-" Rhett stood up and patted down his clothes to venture further into the pine forest. Scarlett called after him. "Rhett, you will be here.. for some time, won't you? I thought we could go into town and attend house parties and balls."

"Yes, I will be here.. for some time." replied Rhett, with an enigmatic smile on his face. "And as for your idea of putting up a good devoted husband and wife show for the Southern society.. why not? I am quite prepared to satisfy all the marital requirements-"


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

Cotton plants began to emerge from the carefully watered and weeded seed-beds of Tara. They looked fertile and green, free of fungal infections along all the furrowed land that belonged to Scarlett and Will Benteen. In the surrounding rented sections, either the seedling plants pushed their heads through the red soil, brown and shriveled. Or they didn't emerge at all. Scarlett watched the red earth of Tara with growing apprehension which changed to frantic worry by the end of the month. She generously supplied her field-hands with fertilizer and water, even reducing prices so that they would not lose heart in cultivating a good crop. But nothing worked. The ground adamantly refused to give up its yield.

* * *

"God's nightgown, I simply don't understand this!" lamented Scarlett, digging her fingers into the red soil and finding the buried dried out seeds. "How could such beautiful tufts of cotton appear in our own farm and almost nothing but yellow and shriveled cotton appear on the rented portions? We all used the same bags of seed-"

Will crouched beside her and she handed a fistful of dug-out seeds to him. He gently fingered them and said, "These seeds have been poisoned, Scarlett. It's plain as day."

"I've never heard of such a ridiculous thing." retorted Scarlett indignantly. "I was here in the fields.. everyday.. supervising with Cobbs, Cotton and Boy. I never noticed anything amiss-"

"All the same, I'd say we are in for some serious trouble now." Scarlett looked up sharply at this but she saw that Will's screwed up eyes were directed at the far end of the field. She followed his gaze and saw Elijah standing at the field's edge, leaning on his wooden cane and staring intently at Scarlett and Will with a distinct, vindictive gleam in his wizened eyes. A chill ran through Scarlett for Elijah suddenly resembled the wrathful Elijah from the Bible. The wild-eyed prophet who slew hundreds of pagan priests because they preyed on the innocent people.

* * *

Trouble was brewing at Tara. Over the next two days, workmen stood together under the blazing hot sun, cheeks flushed, sweat drenching their shirts, glaring and scheming together. No one went near their crops anymore. They stood around it as if the fields were haunted.

Scarlett took Cobbs with her and went to the storehouse. The un-tampered bags were full of good seed and there were no traces of chemicals about the floor. She turned back to the house, confused and dejected. Will nodded to her from the porch. He stood there, his feet planted firmly in a soldier like stance, his eyes trained on the far horizon where the workers grumbled together.

"Scarlett, I think its best that you take Suellen and Susie and leave for your Pine grove house. There's something afoot - those black fellows are planning to stir up trouble and things may get nasty. The last thing I want is for you to be mixed up in it-"

"What do you mean?" asked Scarlett, her face draining of color. "What could these men possibly do?"

"I rightly suspect that they are planning to start a riot."

"Oh no! But why?!"

"Well, they tried to talk to the police about the bad seeds and they couldn't make inroads with them. And now as they feared, the cotton on their patches of land is all yellow and puny. So naturally, they blame us and they don't want to slide further in debts. One bad harvest is all it takes to enslave these people forever. They're afraid of that and they want police to pay attention to them and bring them justice. One way of doing that is by starting a riot-"

"But.." faltered Scarlett. "But, we haven't done anything wrong."

"They don't believe that. According to them, we are guilty until proved innocent. These folks ain't like your Pa's slaves, Scarlett. They got their free rights and whether they know how to use them properly or not, they know one thing - They don't want to be slaves anymore. And their rising debts make them slaves. I've asked some of our boys to guard the sheds where the farming tools and machines are stored. Those things are expensive and well.. we can't have one workman hacking up another workmen, like that murder that happened some days ago-" Will shifted his leg. "Now, why don't you go into the house and get your things packed-"

"I'll never leave Tara. I'll never abandon this place until I know that it is absolutely safe!" Scarlett's eyes blazed with fierce determination. Her shoulders grew erect and taut, as if she was bracing herself for the unpleasant ordeal ahead. Will took a look at her and nodded, "All right, then I'll send for some police. We sure could use their protection and I'll send word to Mr. Westley too. He's been buzzing down here about his boys for so many days that he ought to receive first hand information about any riot that's going to break out-"

Scarlett felt her world spinning. A riot- at Tara?! The horrifying memories of escaping the burning Atlanta town on the night of the surrender leapt to her mind. People destroying property that wasn't rightfully theirs, burning up ammunition, breaking into houses and stealing things, occupying houses, killing people, driving people away- Her hands grew cold and began to tremble. Then she grit her teeth and that Gerald jaw sprung out of her soft cheeked face. She surveyed the workmen unrest with defiance. Yes, Will was right. They would call for the police and for Mr. Westley and they would fight these nasty field-hands and batter some sense into their brains. The seeds turning bad was thoroughly unexpected. The worst form of bad luck and nothing could be pinned on Scarlett or Will. She would fight them all and win!.

"Perhaps we should send word to Captain Butler too?" asked Will, softly.

Scarlett stiffened faintly. "Captain Butler is in town.. on business. He can't be reached."

Will nodded once and Scarlett had a sneaking suspicion that Will somehow knew the state of affairs between herself and Rhett. Will always knew these things in his mysterious, unfathomable way.

* * *

The night fell and the sound of carriage wheels on the gravel indicated that Mr. Westley had arrived. The police arrived soon after. Three burly Yankee policemen armed with pistols and clubs. Scarlett had a pistol herself in the pockets of her gown. Mr. Westley walked up the porch stairs and crossed the veranda in a wide state of agitation.

"What's this I hear about bad seeds? Mrs. Butler, I must see the shed where you've kept the bags of cotton seed. Let the policemen see that we have nothing to blame on our side."

Cobbs immediately led the men down to the shed and unlocked the door. With the lamp light burning, the policemen knelt down and keenly examined the seeds.

Scarlett looked around in the chilly night air and saw the lamp lights in the shacks of her field hands. Faint spots of bright orange. As she kept staring, the spots of orange began to multiply until the far horizon was a bright orange line.

"Will, look-" said Scarlett and her next words were interrupted by the most thundering cries. Black men rushed from everywhere, carrying blazing torches and they began to set fire to the fields. Scarlett's heart thumped so hard that it threatened to burst out of her chest. Everywhere she looked, all she saw were the terrible orange lights, dancing maliciously in the darkness. As the angry mob drew near the shed and the house, the policemen formed a solid front.

"Just what are you hoping to gain by this riot?" bellowed Mr. Westley, angrily. "If you think that we are cheating you. That we have purposely given you rotten seeds for planting in your fields, then come here and have a look at the seed bags. Come and see for yourselves. There is no foul play here!"

A few of the eldest field hands rallied behind Elijah and they entered the shed while the mob stood outside in a half-circle, burning torches and all. The air was hot and sweltering from the heat. Will tipped over a bag of grain and the black men inspected it.

When Elijah straightened up, the nearest policemen said, "Mr. Westley and Mrs. Scarlett Butler are fair employers and your field hands are stirring up unwanted trouble. Now if this mob doesn't settle down, we will have to make arrests-"

"Just a minute, Sir" said Elijah. "These seeds are good and healthy. But they were taken elsewhere and treated with chemicals. I don't know who did it but I can show you where."

"This is preposterous" barked out Mr. Westley, his face turning beet red with fury.

"I'm afraid we will have to listen this time, Mr. Westley. We will have to explore every road until this entire mess is sorted out." said the policeman and allowed Elijah to lead the way to another shed. Will, Scarlett and Mr. Westley followed with Cobbs, Cotton and Boy hard on their heels.

The other shed was empty, save for one lonely barrel at a small darkened corner. Elijah pointed to the barrel and the officer put his fingers in and felt a thin layer of white residue below. Will felt the residue as well and he whiffed it cautiously. His eyebrows shot up and he looked genuinely concerned. The policemen silently stood up and Mr. Westley cried, "You cannot take the old man's side. There has been no foul play here."

"I can't vouch on that Mr. Westley. That trace of chemical is proof that someone has been tampering with something-"

Mr. Westley was shaking with anger. He glared around the room, snorting like a mad bull.

One of Elijah's sons heard the policeman's words and he immediately ran outside with a loud whoop. The mob turned wild in a matter of seconds. They set fire to the fields, destroying fences and driving out the mules. They tore across the acres from one end to the other, hundreds of feet stampeding the ground in a frenzied rush. The policemen ran out and began to subdue the mob. Will rushed Scarlett into the house while he himself ventured into the crowd with Cobbs, Cotton and Boy at his side. Mr. Westley was somewhere in the tumult too for his bellowing voice could be heard over the shouts of the field hands.

Suddenly a loud shot rang out.

The nearby people, both white and black, fell silent in shock as the body of a man hit the ground.

Boy lay on the red earth, blood pouring out of his chest, dead.


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

They quickly carried the body into the house. Mammy and Dilcey spread out an old sheet on the floor and they laid Boy on it. No one had time to ponder on the tragedy. They all quickly ran to the windows, watching the fire and wondering if the police would get the unruly mob under control. Only Scarlett stared at the shocked expression on Boy's face from time to time. Normally she would have held fast to superstitious beliefs about the dead. She wouldn't even have stayed in the same room. But here they had no choice. There was such calamity outside that they had no other place to put the dead body.

_"Miss Scarlett, when I get rich, the first thing I'm going to do is to ride out to your house in my new carriage and treat you to the finest food that money can buy. You don't know how different you are from the rest of the people. When we black folks have big dreams, both black and white folk laugh at us. But you don't. You support us and we are going to make it worth your while, Ma'am-"_

Scarlett recalled Boy's words. She remembered the grateful exuberance on his flat nosed, thick lipped face. And now he lay as cold and still as a rock. So many dreams.. lost in a matter of seconds.

Suddenly there was a loud banging on the door.

Scarlett instanty raised her pistol and Suellen ran to the window. "It's all right, Scarlett. It's only Cobbs and Cotton. Let them in, Mammy-"

Never before had Scarlett witnessed such broken-hearted mourning for the dead. Cobbs fell on his brother's body and wept aloud. He lifted the body, half way up, as far as the on setting rigidity would allow and cradled it against his own. A torrent of tears poured down his cheeks and he mumbled several unintelligible things in pathetic grief.

As Scarlett watched them, her lips quivered just once. Crying wouldn't change anything. Boy was dead. Killed in the crossfire. There was nothing anyone could have done. Then as she turned her head around, Cobbs's rising wails gave her a terrible new thought. She looked from Cobbs to Cotton, noting the shock and terror on their faces. They were not just mourning Boy's death. They were horrified by it.

She walked up to Cobbs and bending down, she asked,

"He did it, didn't he? Boy poisoned the seeds-"

Cobbs looked up, frightened and desolate. "We.. we didn't know. We were only following orders." His face twitched and he cried pathetically, hugging Boy to his chest. "We never knew this would happen."

Suddenly Scarlett realized how very young Cobbs and Cotton were. Why, they were only in their twenties - headstrong and bull-headed. As she once had been.

She laid a hand on Cotton's shoulder and beckoned him quietly to the back of the room.

"What happened?" she asked, quietly.

Cotton breathed hard, his face also contorting with emotions. He swallowed several times before answering, "We were ordered to treat those seeds with the chemicals from the barrel, Miss. Scarlett. Boy did it. Me and Cobbs stood guard. We'd done it twice before, on other plantations. We get paid really well for it by Mr. Westley. We are his right hand men. But when Abe from Twelve Oaks saw Boy bringing the chemicals, he started blackmailing us. He even spoke to Mr. Westley about it. And Boy got angry and well... he killed him."

Scarlett's hand went flying up to her mouth.

"And well.." Cotton's eyes welled up with tears. "We knew Boy would be in trouble with Mr. Westley. Mr. Westley hated bringing police into these things. He hates police. And he yelled at Boy for murdering old Abe. Abe could have been silenced in another way, he said. And we knew that Boy was in Mr. Westley's bad books. And now this last mistake-"

"You mean the chemical trace in the barrel?"

"Yes,Ma'am. Boy wasn't careful enough and Mr. Westley - He was snorting like a mad bull."

"You mean, _Mr. Westley killed him_?"

Scarlett swayed lightly on her feet. This was cold-blooded murder and Mr. Westley had done it so easily. A point blank shot in the midst of a rioting mob in the darkness of the night. How easily the thing was done!

"You boys shouldn't have done it" she said in half-whisper. She sat down heavily on the sofa and Cotton sat down on the ground beside her feet.

"We would never hurt you, Miss. Scarlett." he said in tender loyalty. "We love your farm and we respect you, Ma'am. This poisoning won't affect you. They can't pin it on you, Ma'am. This way those blacks will belong to you forever. And we were gonna get our gold. This riot is just for one evening. There ain't nothing they can do after that. One bad harvest and they will be neck deep in debts. And they will _belong to you forever_!"

Cobbs stood up, wiping his reddened eyes on his shirt. He approached Scarlett. "We wanted to get rich fast and no body seemed to care. Mr. Westley promised us each a pile of gold but we never thought that he would take Boy to task. We never thought he would kill Boy."

"You boys shouldn't have done it" echoed Scarlett again. She was shocked and speechless. Not because she was upset over Boy's death. But because their frightening logic behind poisoning the seeds and the murder made absolute sense.

The police will never find enough evidence except that chemical trace to pin any blame on her. She was the wealthy landowner and she was safe. And this riot, the burnt crops.. everything.. would be added to the already mounting debts. The field-hands, all hundred of them, would belong to her forever. They have sealed their own fate.

* * *

The riot subsided an hour later. The police knocked at the door and called Scarlett out to stand alongside Will and help him identify the troublemakers so that they could be jailed until the entire misunderstanding was cleared. Mr. Westley had left.

Scarlett trudged up to the row of shacks and the other two policemen had already lined up the black men. After supervising nearly everyday, Scarlett could identify the troublemakers on sight. But she felt completely out of sorts just then. She glumly pointed a few men to the police and they took them under custody. She was more distracted by the poor living conditions of the field-hands. For the first time, she was venturing into the recesses of the shacks where the black women sat with their babies, dirty pots and pans piled up and recently doused fires reeking the air. Each shack was dingy and overcrowded. The men stared at her through listless eyes, their hollow cheeks a firm indicator of malnourishment.

She shivered lightly, quickly walking away from the shacks. The fires in the fields were watered out. Now a dull haze of smoke lingered in the air.

"We are very sorry, Mrs. Butler." said one of the policemen. "You can rest assured that no harm will come to you out of this. Not unless we can get an open confession from the culprit-"

_"How can you?"_ thought Scarlett. _"The culprit is dead."_

"We don't know who fired the shot either. But rest assured, no further harm will come to you, Ma'am. We will put these ten fellows behind bars for a few days and put them on a diet of bread and water. That will break their spirits and we will return them to you, repentant and obedient."

The policeman tipped his hat and pulled his prisoners in tow to the farm's edge where they had tied up the horses.

Scarlett gazed once in their direction and then took one last look at the closely crammed shacks. Yes, she was safe. She was the wealthy landowner and she was absolutely safe from any accusations. And by setting fire to their own fields, these foolish field-hands had sealed their own fate. They would now sink so far and deep in debts that they would be at Tara forever.

Suddenly tears began to form in her eyes. She recollected all the high prices she had quoted for food, medicines, clothing, the shacks.. even tools and fertilizer. She had raised the prices, assuring herself that the blacks needed to earn their freedom. That they needed to work hard and pull themselves out of debts and poverty. But Mr. Westley had added a heavier load on them. He had poisoned the seeds. And now these blacks didn't have the sporting chance.

And that struck Scarlett as being hideously cruel.

She was ruthless and cold before. But she had been poor before. Now she was extremely wealthy and she didn't need to trap field-hands like this. That is, she was settling up a challenge for the field-hands by raising prices and charging for everything. But this seed poisoning deprived them of everything.. especially the sporting chance to fight and survive.

Scarlett didn't want that. It was inhuman.

Mr. Westley had made a mistake and something had to be done about it. She didn't want soulless, listless slaves! She wanted friendly field-hands who were eager to work and think of the farm as their own. She wanted happiness and laughter as in the days of old.

She didn't want this.


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**

Scarlett found herself in a small room that looked rather like a large office. Some men sat at a far away table playing cards. They didn't take any notice of her as she sat on the sofa, waiting for Mr. Westley.

After waiting for a few minutes, Mr. Westley entered the room. "Mrs. Butler-" he said, approaching Scarlett and seating himself on a nearby armchair. "The riot at Tara was just as much a devastating shock to me as it was to you. I never thought that my field-hands had as much mule spirit to raise such a hassle and bring so much trouble on you." A servant loomed up beside him. "Bring Mrs. Butler a cup of steaming hot coffee-"

"Mr. Westley, I am not here to drink coffee." interjected Scarlett, tersely.

"Oh but surely, you've driven all the way to Atlanta in the freezing night air-"

"Let me come straight to the point. You left early, Sir and after you had left, the police took ten of the workmen into their custody. The fires were put out and the crops on the rented portions were fully burnt to the ground. But Mr. Westley, I have decided not to surmount the cost of these damages to the heavy farming debts."

Mr. Westley was reaching for a cigar from his coat pocket. But when he heard the words, he stopped and stared at Scarlett in disbelief. "Surely you are joking, Madam."

"No, I am not."

"Then I'm afraid I shall have to act on my separate authority. You see, I leased those men to you under my labor contract that their behavior would be in absolute compliance to the landowner's terms of sharecropping contract- that no property on the landowner's farm acres might be damaged - not a fence, a ditch or a turn-row- by the insubordination of workers." He lit his cigar and puffed out smoke. "If you do not enforce discipline on your Tara, Mrs. Butler, then I'm afraid I shall have to do it for you-"

Mr. Westley watched her curiously. "You were the last person I believed who would excuse such appalling behavior in a black workman, Mrs. Butler. I hope you are not worried about this nasty riot business. As we agreed before, the blacks ought to be dealt with a firm hand. Once they realize that their outrageous mutiny has been punished with increasing debts, they will swallow their arrogance and get down to work. The police only momentarily took their side. But the gruesome attack on your peaceful red fields has convinced the police that their loyalties lie with the white masters. So, you have nothing to worry about."

"And the bags of poisoned seeds?"

Mr. Westley broke into a good-humored guffaw. "Come come, Mrs. Butler. You were there when our men opened the bags. Those seeds were healthy and whole. Rather, the workmen were lazily. They didn't till the land properly. They did add enough fertilizer. It is their fault that they could not produce a good harvest. The contract clearly told them, cleared warned them that they were solely responsible for their rented land and out of the first crop, they were to play for their rent and for any other debts that might have accumulated from borrowing farming implements, mules, food, clothing or shacks. When each field-hand signed such a contract, he knew the full terms of his employment. There is no need for you to defend him-"

"But the seeds were poisoned, Mr. Westley. The boy who poisoned them has been shot dead."

Mr. Westley carefully stroked his moustache and gazed levelly at Scarlett. Slowly he leaned forward and clasped his hands together on his knees. "I won't pretend with you, Mrs. Butler. Of all the plantation owners I have met, you struck me from the very beginning as being a very successful business woman, a smart woman who knows just what to do to get her way. I guessed it and you proved yourself, time and time again. Yes, I did ask for my own men to poison the seeds. But it is only for one harvest. This year, the blacks will suffer from stunted cotton growth. Their debts will increase until we both are sure that they will never be able to pay the due for another year. The next year, we give them a good harvest. They pay back some amount. And the year after that, well.. you get my meaning- These are smart business practices, Mrs. Butler - ruthless and cold but extremely effective. You will always have your hundred field-hands and Tara will eventually become a glorious plantation. You have nothing to fear-"

"Mr. Westley, if you had told me this years ago, I would have agreed because I was grindingly poor-"

"We all suffered during the war, Madam! You needn't speak of poverty to me! But I did not give up. If I have such a successful sharecropping business, it is because of all the little decisions I had to make along the way. Some of them were questionable but-"

"But we have survived! We shouldn't have to resort to such measures-"

Mr. Westley laughed out loud. "Why, Mrs. Butler, I never expected this of you. Don't you know that once we lose control of our workers, they will cease to respect us? They will cease to work hard and toil under the hot sun. They will never know the meaning of free rights!"

"My father's slaves were happier-"

"Everyone was happier during the old days, Mrs. Butler."

"Mr. Westley, let me make my intentions very clear. By poisoning the seeds, you are forcing me to raise the debts and keep these workmen in Tara forever. If I did that, I would be listening to you and I would come under your control. And I despise that, Sir. Tara is my farm and these are my workers whom I have leased from you. By damaging the seeds, you have interfered-"

"What will you do, Mrs. Butler? Will you confess this to the police? Because if you do, your own black field-hands will give account of how you mercilessly raised the prices for machinery, plough-shares, mules, horses, food, medicines, shacks.. and then finally poisoned the seeds. The police will seize your farm away from you for it is a serious crime against the landowner to provide bad seeds to the sharecroppers. You will seal your fate and lose your farm if you confess, I assure you. However, if you are wise, you will hold your peace. You will tide this bad crop just this once and next year, you will work your men even harder and produce a good harvest."

"I will not take orders from you! Who do you think you-" cried Scarlett, rising to her feet.

"Keep a civil tongue, Madam." retorted Mr. Westley, rising to his feet as well. "Or I shall lose my temper. I have been extremely patient with you-"

"You could have tried this trick at Twelve Oaks and you would have had a better success!"

"Twelve Oaks! Bah! You seem to hold Mr. Wilkes in high regard, Mrs. Butler. I do not. I know that he is a poor businessman and a useless being. But my daughter loves him and he is a gentleman. So for her sake, I shall not disturb Ashley Wilkes. He may be idealistic but at least he is safe. I want that kind of man for my daughter. She knows nothing of the real world and her illusions must be sustained. But you Madam, you know very well of the world-"

Scarlett began to walk towards the door.

"A moment, Mrs. Butler. Who told you that the seeds were poisoned?"

Scarlett did not reply. She slammed the door shut and walked up to her carriage, fuming with anger. Mr. Westley was a cad and a dog. He had manipulated her business dealings and now she is forced to follow his orders. If she goes to the police, she will lose Tara and if she doesn't, she will lose Tara anyway."

Suddenly a hand reached out and grabbed her arm. Scarlett nearly shrieked out in fear. Another hand cupped her mouth.

"Mrs. Butler, please don't scream." Scarlett recognized Henry Westley's steady voice. She shook her head and he released his hold. "You better hurry back to your farm. He's going to kill them."

"Cobbs and Cotton?"

"Yes. Here, you better take my horse. My father is talking to his men. Before the morning light appears, those men will ride to Tara and shoot those two boys for speaking about the poisoning-"

"No, they can't-"

"You don't know my father, Mrs. Butler. He can and he will-"

Scarlett quickly climbed up on the sturdy black horse and she rode out like the wind down the roads to Tara.


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**

Scarlett's hands trembled as she veered her horse down the trail path to Tara. _She was losing Tara._ The thought echoed over and over in her head until it nearly followed the rhythmic pounding of the horse's hooves down the gravel paths. Beads of sweat lined her forehead. Her chapped lips were pressed so tightly that they nearly disappeared into her chilled white face. At the far end of the path, the lamps shone welcomingly through the open windows of her white-washed plantation house. As her horse thundered closer and closer, the doors opened and Will, Cobbs and Cotton were carrying Boy's body outside to the little wagon. The rest of the family stood crowded at the doorway.

Scarlett alighted from the horse and pressed the reins into the hands of Cobbs. "Quick! You have to run for your lives. They are coming to kill you both-"

For a moment, hardly anyone could speak a word. They all stood, vacant and dumb.

**"For God's sake hurry up!"**

Scarlett unhitched the horse which was harnessed to the wagon itself. She gave its reins to Cotton. "Don't worry about your brother." she said, winded yet sensible. "We will give him a decent burial at our grounds. You take Cotton and both of you leave here- " The simple urgency in her voice told the others that her words were not to be taken lightly or questioned. "Go on.. Don't just stand there so dumb-"

Cobbs mounted the horse and Cotton reluctantly followed. The pathetic desperation in their eyes nearly wrenched tears out of the onlookers. Cobbs lingered uncertainly, reluctantly.. turning back several times before finally raising his hat as a form of thanks and egging his horse to tear out of the farm. Soon both horses disappeared into the darkness of the night. Scarlett noted gloomily how the expression on Cobbs's face had been so similar to that of a child when he is told that the toy he has playfully broken is broken forever and has to be thrown away.

"Miss Scarlett?"

Scarlett turned her eyes towards the front veranda and Mammy stood there with a shawl in her hands. "Come into the house. You must be mighty cold .. riding out in this night air. Come into the house before you catch your death of cold!"

"Good old Mammy" thought Scarlett, too stunned to speak anything just yet. As she turned, she heard the wagon wheels churn across the gravel and Will and two other house servants, gravely carrying Boy's body away.

* * *

It didn't take very long for Mr. Westley's men to reach Tara. They arrived almost as soon as Cobbs and Cotton had left. Two burly white men, unshaven faces with flat noses and heavy jowls. They knocked rudely at the door and even before Scarlett could grant them permission, they walked into every room hunting for the boys and then went out to the farm in search of them.

Scarlett saw these men as the first of many others who would follow every time she defied Mr. Westley's authority. How foolishly she had submitted herself under him! How horrible it was to be manipulated - the very thing that she herself used to do to others! Scarlett sank her face into her hands and tried to weep but she could not. The shock of everything - of being cheated, of being manipulated, for riding here in the cold night and helping the boys escape by the skin of their teeth - all this shock was too much. It had even sapped her strength to cry.

She sat there at the window, the shawl draped loosely about her shoulders, looking haunted. She did not know what happened to Mr. Westley's men. She did not look up when Will and the others returned. She didn't even flinch when Mammy pressed a cup of hot coffee into her shivering hands.

"Now, you drink that child and go upstairs to bed."

"No." said Scarlett, speaking out at last. "No, I'm going back to my house. Pork, fetch my carriage. I must leave right away-"

* * *

Scarlett wanted to go back to Pine grove. There was nothing to do at Tara now. The red soil was burnt, the crops were sizzled out, the field-hands were asleep, Boy was buried and the family were tired and upset. She hadn't the heart to talk about everything that she had been through- from her visit to Mr. Westley's house to her mad rush back to Tara. She didn't even know where to begin.

But as Scarlett sat in her carriage, being gently rocked into the seats by the shuffling coach, her shoulders began to shake from the strain that was quickly catching up with her. She had lost Tara! In her mind, one by one, everyone she had ever known stood up in persecution of her. First Gerald, his florid face and heavy-barreled body shaking with fury. "How now Missy, tis a fine way to act! Now that you've brought trouble on your Mother and me- Now that you've handed out your land, everything I've ever worked for, everything that ever mattered to our family-" His severe eye cocked at her and she whimpered forlornly.

Then her Mother. Her Mother's gentle face twisted with grief. The look of reproach in her pained eyes that could shame Scarlett to tears.

"Oh I'm glad they are dead!" cried Scarlett vehemently, breaking into sobs and pressing her wet face into a handkerchief. She cried for a long time as she remembered everything. Everything that she had done for Tara. Her first excitement on seeing Mr. Westley, his first encouraging words, the first time she saw the field-hands, the first sweet smell of red earth being furrowed in its entirety, the seeds being scattered and watered so diligently. She had so many hopes. And now they have been manipulated, diluted, rearranged..

"Oh, what would Will and Suellen say?"

All the neighbors would soon hear of the murder and the wreckage at Tara. The morning would bring dozens of nosey onlookers, shaking their heads and saying that they knew all along that Scarlett O Hara would bring ruin with her penny-pinching schemes. They all hated her. They all despised her.

She remembered the grim nods and mirthless smiles back in Atlanta. Even Ashley hadn't anything sensible to say to her.

And finally, slowly, Scarlett thought of Rhett. Her sobs began to lessen. Ever since her childhood, every time she did something wrong, she'd have to run around soothing her Mother and Pa, her sisters and relatives, that she'd never meant any disgrace. No body ever really asked her how she felt or why she did the things that she did.

But Rhett wasn't like that. She wouldn't have to reassure him of anything. He already knew her and she could tell him anything for he was just as shrewd, just as selfish, just as unscrupulous as her.

Scarlett wiped her eyes and straightened up in her seat.

But now, Rhett had changed. He spoke of wishing for the old days and wanting nothing more than to be a Southern gentleman who harbored sentimental feelings about the old traditions and ways. But Scarlett wondered: Why should Rhett be any different from her in this respect? Why, they were the same here too. Mr. Westley is the one who devised new ways to keep the blacks under him. He was the one who played underhanded, ungentlemanly tricks to keep their debts high and rising. Scarlett never wanted that. She wanted workers who would be happy to till and cultivate Tara's red earth. She too wanted the days of old. _If anyone should be shamed for the havoc at Tara, it should be Mr. Westley and not her!_

It was only when she compared herself to Mr. Westley's nature that she realized how different she was. She recollected Will's words - that she _never knew what was in people's heads_. Until then, she never knew what was in Mr. Westley's head. That had been her only fault. Now, after hearing his twisted opinions of Twelve Oaks and of Ashley Wilkes, she felt nothing but pity. She pitied Mr. Westley for his mean, narrow-minded thinking. His very definition of a gentleman was a weak farce! She pitied Jane Westley and she pitied Ashley Wilkes. Why had she ever envied them all in the first place? She was a thousand times better than them! Tara could be saved still and Rhett would know what to do. He knew people and he knew Mr. Westley.

Scarlett's mouth twisted into a feeble, exhausted smile. The last time she had approached Rhett for favors, she thought she should because Tara was worth it. But now she didn't really give two thoughts about saving Tara. Tara would be saved. Of course it would! And Rhett would do it because she, Scarlett was worth it. She wouldn't have to coax, manipulate or beg him. He would do it just because he loved her. He wouldn't shame her or frighten her because she was worth so much more. And now that she realized this simple thing, she realized how much she loved Rhett. She loved him because she knew more than him, in some strange emotional way. And anyway, how could she blame Rhett for anything? In his own confusing, malicious, taunting way, he exposed her to new places, new ideas, new experiences.. In his own way, he did try to love her. It was all anyone could expect from a man who was trying so hard to be a gentleman. Poor thing, he didn't know he already was. Just as she didn't know that she already was a fine lady.

"How silly we both are!" she thought, alighting from the carriage as it halted outside Pine grove. "How silly the world is!"

* * *

It was seven in the morning when Scarlett entered the house. Rhett had come back from Atlanta for he was sitting on the back porch with the paper in his hand. But Scarlett did not go to him. She first went to wash her face and comb her tumbled hair. She observed her pale face in the mirror. She was exhausted -both physically and emotionally. She met Prissy half-way up the stairs and asked for two coffees to be sent to her and Rhett.

Now she went to find him.

"Rhett, I must speak to you" said Scarlett. He looked mildly surprised at the sound of her voice. He turned around, his eyes very blank and expressionless, almost politely bored. He waited for her to speak further but she put her hand determinedly on his arm.

"Come inside the house, I must speak to you!"

An inscrutable look came into his eyes but he followed her, quietly enough.

Scarlett spoke slowly and clearly, as if she were speaking more to herself than to Rhett.

"Rhett, I raised the prices on everything - everything that I ever loaned to the field-hands under the sharecropping contract. I believed Mr. Westley's words - that the blacks needed to earn their freedom and I wanted to stay in charge. So, I raised the prices. But Mr. Westley - He's a viper.. a.. a venomous viper if I ever saw one! He poisoned the seeds. I never believed him capable to such trickery especially when he is twice as rich as me. When the field-hands complained, I didn't believe them. I.. I thought nothing of it. But yesterday there was a riot and one man, the one who poisoned the seeds was shot dead by Mr. Westley himself. And he wanted to kill the other two fellows responsible as well. But I saved them. I helped them escape before Mr. Westley's thugs came to kill them. And now, either I can confess to the police about the poisoning and lose Tara or I can stay quiet and wait for the next harvest for everything to settle down at Tara. But Rhett, I will always be under Mr. Westley for this one bad harvest has tied the blacks to me and me to Mr. Westley.. I have lost Tara to him. I no longer am the sole deciding authority, you see-"

Rhett remained expressionless. His eyes continued to stare blankly at her.

"Rhett, you must help me." concluded Scarlett, simply. "You must help me get back Tara."

Rhett raised his eyebrows faintly and seated himself in an armchair. His studied her in a speculative fashion. But something had changed. Scarlett neither looked frantic nor even remotely upset. She was quiet and steady. He had never seen her that way before.

"Why do you tell all this now? Why do you tell me?" he asked at length. There was nothing in his voice.

Scarlett lowered herself into a chair nearby. "I knew you would understand."

"I seem to understand many things" remarked Rhett, cuttingly. It was meant to be a jibe but Scarlett could note the dejection in his voice.

"Oh Rhett, I don't know what to do." explained Scarlett patiently. "How could I possibly fight a man like Mr. Westley? He seems to have connections with the politicians, the police, the merchants and even the field-hands. I don't know half as many people. I was never any good at knowing people either. But you can help me."

"Perhaps once I would have. But now-"

"You still would" interrupted Scarlett. "Because I love you." Her eyes rested on his face for just a fleeting second. There was no tempestuousness display of emotions for she had already exhausted everything. But there was a quiet passion in her voice, a quiet, gritty feeling.

A small smile of unbelief played on Rhett's lips. "You sound as though you were discussing the weather." He looked at her but Scarlett was already tired and drained from everything. She leaned back in her own chair and closed her eyes in exhaustion. After a while, she felt his hand on hers.

"Who are the two men who escaped for their lives?"

"Cobbs and Cotton - two of the field-hands. They told me that they had poisoned the seeds and when I confronted Mr. Westley, he decided to kill them-"

"And where have these boys gone?"

"I told them to flee. I suppose they rode in the direction of the swamps. It's the safest place to hide-"

Scarlett opened her eyes and found him staring at her intently.

"Have you really changed so much that you want to help your field-hands? This sudden womanly sweetness-"

"Sweetness has nothing to do with it." shot back, Scarlett sourly. "Those two boys are clever schemers, full of ambitious dreams and hard work. I would challenge Mr. Westley for only those two lives because I have an odd respect for ruthlessness in people-"

Rhett suppressed a quick smile at this. "You sit here and wait. It's all right if you fall asleep, I'll wake you when I return."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to see if I can find your boys. They are the key to solving this sharecropping problem. I hope to find them alive and well, in the swamps and I hope to convince them to come along with me. We can hide them here, in our house - at the basement, in one of those store rooms and if they can produce some of those poisoned seeds, then we might have a chance against Mr. Westley-"

Scarlett watched him put on his hat and push a pistol into his belt strap. The door banged lightly and he was gone.


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33**

Scarlett slept well into the noon and woke up with a cramped neck. She was upstairs when Prissy showed Mr. Westley and his son into the front parlor and bounded up the stairs to fetch Scarlett. Scarlett steeled herself. She knew that Mr. Westley would visit her. She took it as a sign that Cobbs and Cotton were still alive.

"Mrs. Butler" said Mr. Westley as soon as she entered the room. "Last night my men came to Tara looking for two of the boys, my own men, Cobbs and Cotton. But strangely they did not find them at the farm-"

"Yes, that is strange indeed." agreed Scarlett. "Did they look everywhere?"

"Mrs. Butler, Cobbs's brother was buried only after my men reached Tara. If Cobbs wasn't there to bury his own brother, then perhaps he had prior knowledge that my men were coming for him and Cotton. Perhaps, he had been escaped-"

"Why should he escape?" asked Scarlett at once. "He knows no harm would ever come from a genial employer such as yourself-"

"Madam, I am in no mood to play games."

"Oh good, I am not mood to play games either. In fact, I'd rather we didn't have this conversation at all." Scarlett rose up to her feet. " Now if you gentlemen are quite through, you may leave-"

"Madam, you force me to speak plainly which is not something I like to do. I am seldom rude to young ladies but you are forcing me to be otherwise. If you are sheltering these boys, if you think that you can use them to accuse me of any underhanded dealings, you are wrong. I have a vast deal of connections and I always get my way." He rose up to his feet and so did Henry Westley. "And if you dare file any case against me, I assure you, the police will not be on your side. The seed poisoning is a blemish on your management and you will lose your farm. And once they seize your land, I shall buy it, no matter how heavily priced it may be. I take great pleasure in possessing land of such-"

"Get out!" screamed Scarlett. "Get out of my house this instant!" Her hands were trembling but she didn't care. One of the house servants opened the front door and after throwing a nasty look at Scarlett, Mr. Westley stomped out of the house.

* * *

Rhett didn't return until it was dark outside. She heard the click of the gate and saw five men alighting from their horses and go behind the house. She joined them as quickly as her feet could carry her. Cobbs and Cotton were there, so was Will and a friend of Rhett's whom she'd never seen before. He unlocked the basement door and the two boys descended the dark steps.

"Scarlett, they'll need some blankets and food" said Will. "They might be down there for a few days now-"

"Mr. Westley was here this morning" said Scarlett, quickly.

"Well, that was very prompt of him" said Rhett. "Then he must suspect that we'd bring these boys here. I wouldn't put it past him to come into our house with a search warrant."

"Oh, he couldn't!"

"I'm afraid he can. They are after all, his field-hands. He has only leased them to you. He could easily come searching for them under the accusation of hiding from bad debts. But no matter, we shall manage it somehow."

"We could ask Cobbs and Cotton to hide out amongst the dark pines. The area still hasn't been cleared up and there is plenty of overgrown tangled-up greenery-"

"Good. Good, exactly!" said Rhett. "We could send them out there in the first sign of trouble-"

Scarlett hastily ran back to the house. She ordered her servants about to cook food, fetch blankets and things to the basement. Rhett, Will and the other gentleman were so deep in discussion that she didn't disturb them. Instead she went to the sitting room and sat by the window on a divan, anxiously gazing out to see if Mr. Westley might arrive to search the house. She felt sure he would. He was cad enough to try anything desperate.

* * *

Will and Rhett's friend left. Rhett's soft footsteps could be heard on the front porch. The night was dark and still. Anytime now, Mr. Westley's men or even police men might come barging in to search the entire house. What if they couldn't escape the boys in time? What if the boys got shot here in Pine grove? A dozen questions haunted Scarlett as she sat curled on the divan, her face white and strained.

Rhett locked the front door and put out the lights. He saw Scarlett sitting by the moonlight and padded up to her. "Your boys have been fed and advised to swallow their fears and go to sleep. I see what you mean.. about liking them.. they are high-spirited, aren't they-" Rhett chuckled softly. "Plucky fellows but with confusing morals-"

"Rhett, what if Mr. Westley really arrived with a warrant?"

"If he arrived with a warrant, they will first start banging on the front door. You can take the back entrance to the basement and tell the fellows to fly out to the forests. I've already told them what to do so don't worry. And once the search is over, they can come back to their hidey hole-"

"Oh dear, how long must we protect them like this?"

"Until I gather enough evidence to make a good case." Rhett sighed softly and walked towards her. Scarlett straightened up as he pushed away one of the cushions onto the wooden floor and lay down on the divan so that his head was on Scarlett's lap. She smiled with affection and began to comb her fingers from his forehead into his black hair. He did not look up at her but stared ahead at the far corner of the room. They sat still for several minutes in utter darkness. Then Rhett began to speak,

"The last two days I was at Atlanta, I went to visit Bonnie's grave-"

"You might have told me. I would have come with you-"

"Bonnie's gravestone needed washing and polishing. I hired a fellow to weed the ground around the grave and plant a few flowers."

Another silence fell between them.

Rhett spoke again,

"Scarlett, I am almost reconciled to Bonnie's death. It has been three years since that riding accident. But the one memory that haunts me still is her fear of the dark.. that night when she woke up screaming about a clawed monster that sat on her chest.. Why would my baby dream of such a nasty thing? Even after sleeping in my own lighted room for so many nights. I wasn't able to protect her." Rhett's voice was weighed down with sadness. "I didn't want to give up her body for the funeral because I didn't want to put her into a narrow coffin where its dark and the worms would get at her-"

"Oh Rhett" said Scarlett, her heart twisting in her chest at his words. Then her brow cleared as she remembered something. "Oh, but how could you have known-"

"Known what-"

"That nightmare she had. Oh, I found out later from Lou. Lou threw away that smelly box of insects. I ought to have told you but I was so upset myself that I never bothered about your feelings-"

"Tell me what?"

"You had gone out that day and Bonnie was waiting up for you by the window. She had a box full of a mangled collection of roaches and beetles. She wanted to show them to you. But you came very late.. past her bedtime and Lou put her in spite of her obstinate cries to sleep.." Scarlett smiled sadly. "I suppose the memory of the horned beetles, their claws and hairs and things.. I suppose that was what made her imagine monsters in her sleep-"

"My God, then that was it! Of course she would have nightmares after seeing such things. She always had a wild imagination. You should have seen her when she played Red Indians, Scarlett. She would.."

Rhett's voice faded in the darkness. And then Scarlett heard him, in the faintest whisper, "Then it wasn't my fault."

"No it wasn't."

Suddenly they stirred when they heard the sounds of horses and carriages outside.

Mr. Westley had arrived.


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34**

There was a loud jangle of hooves and creaking of wheels on the hard gravel. The front gate was unceremoniously flung open as five policemen trooped down the long path, followed by a constable and Mr. Westley. Someone rapped hard on the front door. Before Rhett could say a word, Scarlett flew rapidly to the rear entrance to the basement and opened the trap door. There were four rooms in the basement. Two of them, for storage purposes and two to be used as servants quarters. But it had been cleared for Cobbs and Cotton. As if on cue, the two boys who were hidden inside, bounded up the steps and rushed out to the back of the house. It was pitch dark outside.

"Out there! Into the pines! Hurry!" said Scarlett in a harsh whisper.

She heard the scampering of feet and the soft footfalls on the grassy floor. The next second, Cobbs and Cotton were gone. She stole a look in the opposite direction and found that one of the house servants was answering the door. Rhett had somehow found time to slip out of his tell-tale suit and now strutted down the stairs, firmly ensconced in his best dressing gown. Realizing that she must do the same, Scarlett barely managed to climb up the stairs as the entire party of policemen and constable barged inside.

"Tell me, Constable, what is the meaning of this? Rampaging into people's houses well past midnight-" began Rhett, sounding marvelously groggy and ill-tempered. As if he had been rudely shaken awake from deep slumber by the unwanted intrusion.

"We've got a warrant to search your house and premises, Captain Butler."

"On what charges?"

The front room was now lighted with enough gaslights to make it seem quite bright and cheery. The constable carefully handed over the warrant and was about to explain when Mr. Westley angrily cut in.

"On the charges that you are providing unauthorized housing for two of my own field-hands! Constable, I suggest you don't waste time explaining all this. The Butlers have those two boys hidden away somewhere and I want them found!"

"I am sorry,Sir" said the Constable with a tip of his hat to Rhett and with a quick motion of his hands, the five policemen ran into every room, pistol in hand to find the missing men. Mr. Westley settled himself into one of the armchairs with malicious triumph in his eyes.

* * *

By now, every servant in the large house was huddled in some dark corner, watching the systematic, meticulous search performed by the Atlanta police. They stood in nightclothes, hair straggling, faces half-drowsy with sleep. Scarlett appeared the same way and she carried Ella on her shoulder and held Wade's hand.

"I am very sorry, Mrs. Butler for disturbing you and the Captain like this. But we are only doing our duties-"

"That's quite all right, Constable-" acquiesced Scarlett, stiffly. "But as you will soon see, we have no unwanted boarders here. Mr. Westley is invading our privacy on false grounds-"

One of the policemen bounded up the basement stairs and held up blankets. "Sir, rolled-up blankets in the basement. Perhaps the two field-hands were-"

"Nonsense!" snapped Rhett, impatiently. "Those are the servants quarters. You rushed about making such a damned noise that you've woken everybody out of their sleep!"

The constable quietly nodded and pushed the door out to the back porch. The entire house had been searched now and his eyes carefully scanned the edge of the dark pine forest. "They could be hidden there-" he sighed and quickly signaled for three of the policemen to join him in his search through the pine forest.

Rhett took Ella from Scarlett and soothed the little girl who was starting to whimper for fear and want of sleep. Wade's eyes were wide open and he was far to engaged in observing the costumes of the policemen, their guns and swords to notice anything else.

Suddenly they all jumped when they heard a gunshot.

"I knew it!" exclaimed Mr. Westley, in a triumphant shout. "Cleverly hidden in the pine trees. But not clever enough!" He joined the Butlers on the porch and victoriously lighted his cigar. "You may find my brash way of settling matters quite disturbing, Madam.. but Captain Butler knows very well who he is dealing with. I will always have my way-"

Scarlett hardly heard anything he said. Her panic-stricken eyes were transfixed on the heavy darkness of the outer edge of the pine forest. The forest floor slopped gradually and dipped into a thick outcrop of great oaks and tall pines. That was where Wade's tree house was built. On the brawny limbs of a great oak tree.

They waited for a half-hour. Finally, they heard the sound of approaching footsteps.

"Well?" inquired Mr. Westley, impatiently. "Where are they? Where are my men?"

"We didn't find them." reported a policeman. He turned to Rhett apologetically and said, "I'm afraid that our men mistook a creeping shadow for the field-hands and fired at one of your stray mules,Sir. It is wounded rather badly."

"I see." said Rhett, quietly.

"I can't think what it was doing there in the first place. Quite a few of them down there-"

Scarlett looked up in surprise and caught the faint flicker of a smirk on Rhett's face.

"But they must be still there!" bellowed Mr. Westley, his white moustache shaking with rage. "You haven't looked hard enough."

"Believe me,Sir. We have." answered the constable with an air of finality. "I am very sorry about your mule, Captain Butler. One of men is new on the job and trigger-happy. He shall be taken to task." The constable tipped his hat and beckoned his men. "Come on lads, back to the horses."

"But.. now see here-" began Mr. Westley, spluttering and spewing curses under his breath. He whirled and snapped viciously at Rhett. "If you bring those two field-hands as witnesses, Captain Butler, I assure you that I will drag your name in the mud-"

"Such a thing has never bothered me." drawled Rhett, irritatingly calm. "On the contrary, you, are the one with a reputation to defend. And you better learn to defend it quickly-"

"Is that a threat?!" Mr. Westley's words rose to a loud roar.

Rhett nodded to the front gate. "I believe your search warrant has expired. If you tarry here any longer, I might have to shoot you for trespassing-"

* * *

Once the policemen left, Cobbs and Cotton walked back to the house. "That was smart thinking, Mist. Rhett" said Cobbs, warmly. He chuckled to himself. "That mule was right next to me when the policeman took a shot at it. It's dead now, dumb thing-"

"It was a bit of stretch but it worked. Although the men certainly wondered why the pine forests were sheltering five to six healthy mules. Once they killed one, they'd be too afraid to shoot at another lurking shadow. Well, I'm afraid for the next few days, you both are going to be holed up in the basement quarters. I'll get you the same chemicals and you show me how you managed to poison the seeds-"

* * *

With Cobbs and Cotton back in the basement quarters, the excitement at Pine grove house finally ebbed and everyone went back to sleep. Scarlett slumped into the chair and mused. "Rhett, if we bring these boys out in the open, they can prove that the seeds were poisoned. But then everyone would blame me. I might lose Tara!"

"Not if I can help it." said Rhett, firmly. "I am going to leave here for the next few days. Your boys told me that they had pulled off this poisoning trick in two other plantations-"

"That's right!" said Scarlett, perking up.

"Well, the first thing to do is to get those sharecropping contracts and summary of financial transactions.. the labor contracts and debts, I mean. Then, we will have some idea of how Mr. Westley has run such a clever, leasing outfit for so many years." Rhett smiled maliciously. "I don't know what gives me more pleasure. Saving your farm or tarnishing that old goat's reputation!"

"Oh, how can you jest so?" said Scarlett, glumly. She put out a hand and clasped Rhett's. "But that is not to say that I'm ungrateful. Perhaps I shouldn't have raised prices on everything that I ever loaned to the workers. If I hadn't, I would have had some support now. I don't know how she-" Scarlett stopped and swallowed uncomfortably.

"What is it?"

"My Mother." continued Scarlett, sullenly. "She would hardly raise her voice, Rhett. Just one quiet word and she would have complete obedience. All the slaves respected her. She worked tirelessly - never sitting down without some mending in her hands, or some knitting work. She'd visit the sick slaves and take care of their babies, give them medicines and clothes. And everyone would listen to her. Perhaps she did it because she played the part of a convent nun rather than a mother. But still-"

She shrugged faintly and grew silent. "Rhett, you'll be gone for a few days?"

"Yes. Perhaps a week or two." replied Rhett, watching her curiously. Scarlett realized he hadn't let go of her hand. He was massaging it slowly between his warm fingers and it felt oddly relaxing. "Perhaps when I am away, you can win your way back into the hearts of your field-hands. As you say, we are in need of their support-"

"I don't see how. Perhaps, if I gave them some allowance?. There is even a verse there in the Bible that says "Money answereth all things-". But I have to face everything tomorrow. I suppose I'll have endless visits from nosey neighbors. They'd all sit in the front parlor, ask delicate questions and give their pretty advices - nothing practical, mind you."

"You could always crush them with your untiring contempt-"

Scarlett looked up sharply at this remark but there was no jeer in Rhett's tone and no smugness on his face. The corners of his mouth weren't pulled down and his black eyebrows stayed low and solemn.

"But I do like those two boys,Rhett. Three of them actually. Cobbs, Cotton and Boy. You should talk to them. They are full of wild dreams and they work very hard. They get work done through others but that is hard work too. And their eyes are so sharp. They can pin down any slacker and bully him into submission."

She smiled to herself as she rose up and began to follow Rhett upstairs.


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35**

As they reached the wide landing, Rhett turned to the servant who was going around the large house and putting out the lights. "After you finish darkening the rooms and locking the doors, fetch Pork and ask him to run a hot-water bath for me. And call Prissy to run a hot-water bath for Mrs. Butler as well-"

* * *

Scarlett stepped out of the bath and toweled herself down. The air was hot and luxuriously humid. The sole candle light in the bathroom was extremely soothing. She untied her hair and it fell in thick locks down her wet shoulders. She wrapped the towel around herself and carried the candle to the bedroom. Rhett wasn't there. Instead there were two other candles already lit and placed in strategic corners to douse the room in dim light. The curtains were drawn back and strips of moonlight splayed across the wide bed. Scarlett, feeling rather energized after the bath, slipped into a cotton chemise and began to brush her thick black hair. Her mind wandered over what Rhett had said. If he could prove that similar poisoning had been done at other plantations, then perhaps she would have a chance. But still- people did take a dim view of seed poisoning. Her neighbors might cut her.

"Well, let them! They are all jealous of me!" thought Scarlett, bitterly. "All howling, clawing cats, worshipping the very ground that Mr. Westley walked on when I am so much better than him! Let them go to pot with their fake ideals. I don't care!" But suddenly Scarlett's hand trembled. The brush slipped out of her grasp and fell to the floor with a soft thud. She frowned angrily and stooped to pick it up. She stuck her chin out and coolly regarded her reflection. "Let them compare me to my Mother. I can never be like her anyway. But, by God, I shall not lose Tara. No matter what happens.. I will never lose Tara."

Rhett entered the room, his wet hair slicked back and some of it falling over his brown face. He sat down on his side of the bed and looked at Scarlett. She set down the brush and rose up from her seat.

"Scarlett, come here." he called, quietly.

Scarlett was mildly surprised at hearing his voice for she had been so preoccupied that she hardly noticed him entering the room. She padded across the room, her bare feet relishing the softness of the thick carpets. She stood next to Rhett, looking vaguely into his face.

"Sit down."

Scarlett's eyes first went to the bed and then she saw Rhett's hand, patting his own lap. Suddenly feeling a little shy and a little silly for hesitating, she sat down and put an arm around his neck to steady her perch. She managed a half-nervous, lopsided smile. Rhett leaned back and sat further on the bed to support her weight. She stared into Rhett's dark eyes, struck by the indecipherable intensity in them. In mild confusion, she wondered if he was indeed going to make love to her.

Rhett slipped his hand under her chemise and began to ease it over her thighs and from under her bottom.

Scarlett felt her heart thump at this unanticipated spontaneity but she didn't say a word.

Soon the chemise was tossed on the floor and he held her entirely naked on his lap. His eyes began to caress her from head to toe. A slow, enveloping gaze that finally lingered for so long over her firm white breasts and her tiny waist that Scarlett felt distinctly uneasy. His hands held her only faintly, almost politely. As she sat there, she could feel the heat from his body seep in and warm her thighs and knees. When Rhett finally looked back into her eyes, she couldn't help blushing. She hastily reached up to remove his dressing gown but he drew back.

"Just a moment" he said, still wearing his penetrating gaze. "How do you feel?"

Scarlett thought at once that this was a ridiculous question. Here she was, as naked as a new born baby and sitting on Rhett's lap and he was fully clothed and asking her how she felt! Really, he had the most queer sense of humor. Then a voice of restraint cautioned her. Perhaps she should make some romantic reply about how she found it all very sexual and wonderful. But when Scarlett finally replied, she said,

"Here I am without my clothes on and you've got all of yours, so naturally I would feel-"

"-vulnerable?" prompted Rhett, softly.

"Well, yes." agreed Scarlett. Now she felt Rhett's arms gradually, steadily encircling her lithe frame such that she was pulled bodily into himself. "But you also feel safe?" he asked with the same softness in his tone.

Scarlett's lips curved in a shy smile. "Yes, I do feel safe."

Rhett put his lips close to her ear and whispered, "That is love. The puzzling, bewildering sensation of being vulnerable and safe at the same time-"

Scarlett looked up at these words, her face lighting up with sudden warmth of gratitude. His fingers lifted up her chin. "Now you said that you loved me-"

"Yes." replied Scarlett.

"Them I am going to become as naked as you-" said Rhett. "But I am not going to undress just yet. I am going to tell you something." He looked deeply into her eyes, a hard, piercing glance that seemed to demand all her attention. His dark eyes seemed like glowing embers. "Scarlett, just as you are sitting now, I've held many a woman on my lap at brothels, entirely naked and willing to make love for some money. They have sat just as you are sitting right now, vulnerable yet eager. They don't mind if they are safe or not, as long as they get paid."

Scarlett nodded dumbly, wondering why he was bringing up so much unpleasantness.

"And I enjoyed seeing women make themselves entirely naked for me. I told you once before of the grand idea taught to me during boyhood that women were gentle and tender creatures who must be protected and cared for- Well, as I told you before, I found that beautiful notion flawed. I found that most women put on airs and veiled their true intentions behind engaging smiles and pretty manners. Upon closer acquaintance, women had hard hearts and stubborn, narrow minds. It was very rare that any of them revealed or enjoyed their vulnerability." Rhett gripped Scarlett tighter and she grew startled at the vibrant tremor in his arms. "I spoke before of avoiding emotional entanglements. You remember that, don't you?" He shook her lightly and she nodded at once. "Well, perhaps I did want some emotional vulnerability. I don't know, Scarlett. I was so young and impetuous. Perhaps that is what I had always wanted. The true vulnerability when a person shares their fondest dreams, faintest hopes and deep-seated faults." Rhett's brown face twisted as he spoke the words. "Well, women rarely revealed or enjoyed such vulnerabilities.." He paused long enough and added "... with me."

Scarlett's eyes wandered from his face and fixed blankly on the folds of his gown. She knew very well why no woman could share her vulnerabilities with Rhett but for some reason, she couldn't say it to him. Rhett's voice drawled on,

"So I found I could force it at brothels. Not the true emotional vulnerability. But physical. " His voice quavered and he impatiently pulled her face up to address her. "I tell you, Scarlett.. in truth, I wanted to protect, to love and to uplift a woman. Your father, my father, Ashley Wilkes.. all fine gentlemen.. but they never had the fierce desire of a man to protect a woman. Your father allowed your mother to manage Tara entirely, my father let my mother and sister starve, Ashley Wilkes.. he.. he allowed Miss. Melly to die.. Yet society approves of them as fine gentlemen. It was maddening! I would never.. Do you understand?!"

"Yes Rhett." answered Scarlett, struck by the turmoil on his face. She put a shivering palm on his cheek. "I'm beginning to-"

"So, my heightened desire became my undoing because women weren't really vulnerable and I could never protect or love them as I wanted to. Everything was a lie, a pretense and both gentlemen and ladies seemed to unquestioningly suffer and abide by it. And so, I developed a crippling, maddening weakness for whores. I could take my vexation out on those women, see them naked and physically vulnerable and say to myself that I have conquered something after all. My urges were considerably confused, do you understand? Scarlett.. that is all I know to do. I only know how to force physical surrender but that wasn't what I really wanted. I never wanted to hurt a woman. But how else could I make her vulnerable? Do you understand? That's why.. that's why I forced myself on you after Melly's reception. That was the only way I know how. That was all I know. I don't know how to make you trust me or feel comfortable with me or share your thoughts, your emotions.."

There was so much desperation in Rhett's face, that Scarlett grew quite alarmed. Now she could understand what Rhett meant by becoming naked. He was speaking things he'd never spoken of before. His lust, his perverted vengeance on women in general. He was becoming just as vulnerable as her. Scarlett never guessed until now that Rhett viewed his own increased masculinity as his weakness. Why, the way he spoke of it, he almost thought it a shame.

"Rhett, perhaps you did enjoy mooning after whores.. but, they would have never understood you. Instead they would have entertained and pleased you and collected their fee. But you did protect them..in a way - you spent all that money on decorating and furnishing that brothel."

"That's right" agreed Rhett, choking as he said the words. His hand vaguely stroked the curls bordering her face.

"When you fell down the stairs and when Dr. Meade had to remove your baby, I thought I'd killed you. I drank hard because I was so afraid. I was so afraid that I couldn't come into your room, you see. And then Miss. Melly came and I spoke of all these things to her-"

Scarlett's eyebrows shot up in horrified surprise. "You mean, you confessed all the things you told me just now?"

"Yes" said Rhett, awkwardly.

"Oh Rhett" said Scarlett, in genuine dismay. She could imagine Melly's sweet face cringing with disgust and astonishment at Rhett's obscene addictions. No wonder Melly had such ridiculous faith that Rhett loved Scarlett. No wonder she had requested Scarlett to show kindness to Rhett. For a moment, Scarlett cursed herself for allowing this to get beyond her. After brooding for a while, she finally chanced,

"What did Melly say? She must have been shocked-"

"I suppose she was. I suppose she didn't believe me. I don't really know."

Scarlett swallowed. "What exactly did you say?" she pronounced slowly and deliberately.

"I don't remember every word, but I do remember ranting harsh and bitter words of confession and abasement. I mentioned Belle Watling and I confessed that I wanted to hurt you and that I did. I accused myself of all the immodest deeds I had ever done to a woman- I was drunk and crazy with jealousy-"

Rhett gazed apologetically at Scarlett and her eyes widened for this was the same way he looked at Melanie when he hemmed and hawed over the delicate matter of possessing a latchkey to the sporting house. It was a confession then and it was a confession now. And Melanie hadn't taken the least offense. She appreciated him warmly for saving Ashley and earlier even called Rhett her own brother-

Scarlett began to speak and noted with surprise that her throat had gone mysteriously dry. She swallowed and continued,

"You were jealous because I was sharing all my true feelings and thoughts with Ashley-"

"Yes. I tried to make you see that he was only lusting after you. But in truth, I finally understood what I wanted. I wanted what you had with Ashley. I wanted you to speak to me that way. I wanted you to trust me that way. Perhaps that is the spark of lasting happiness-"

"Ashley never understood my emotions. Even if I explained them as if I explained them to Wade, he would never understand." snapped Scarlett, bluntly. "Oh, don't ever speak of him again!" Then her face softened. "Everything you said has gone to the grave with Melly. Oh Rhett, you said these things to Melanie but poor thing, with all her goodness and grace she couldn't really understand you. Don't you see, darling- only I can. Only I can love you after knowing you for what you are. You said those words to me before- Rascals both of us. And in a way, I was desperate enough to let ... or even wish for Ashley to take me. So, I really do understand. And I am not threatened by your escapades because I know that those whores did it for money. There was no love and no affection. And you did furnish that brothel-"

"That's right" mumbled Rhett. "But with Belle it was different. She understood me as much as she could and respected me for a fine gentleman. She loved me and I daresay I would have poured my heart out to her many many times."

Scarlett's green eyes met Rhett's dark ones squarely almost challengingly.

"Belle may have loved you and respected you for being a gentleman.. but Rhett, .. Bell was not a lady. Oh, I don't mean kindness or gentleness for she showed plenty of those qualities when she rescued our men during that Klu Klux shooting. But I mean, she will never rise above the hole where society had put her. And Rhett.. you must know-" Scarlett drew herself up. "-only a lady from an aristocratic family.. the Robillard family would know how to correctly love and respect a fine Charleston gentleman with Butler blood in his veins-"

She couldn't even finish her sentence for Rhett turned her in his arms and pressed her close to his body. She could hear his staggered breathing and sense the hard beating of his heart. "It is true-" he stammered, in an astonished almost sacred whisper. "I am holding an angel in my arms-"

"There is nothing shameful about wanting to protect and care for a woman, darling." soothed Scarlett, running her fingers through his hair. "It is everything admirable and wonderful-"

"How could I speak of my vulnerabilities when you remain so strong?" asked Rhett, voice almost choked with emotion. "The first day I met you, when I saw you coveting a man engaged to someone else, I knew that you were meant for me. I knew you would understand. You were so muddled up in your morals that you would understand my failings.. for my true failings were with women.. you see- But I could never get you to admit that you were having an affair with Ashley."

"I thought you were trying to break me-"

"I was. So that you could break me."

Scarlett bit her lips to keep from quivering. Rhett bent his head and looked into her eyes. "Marrying a gentleman's daughter from a well-respected Southern family.. that was the last thing I thought I could ever do. You must have heard stories of my amorous adventures with women in other places.. even West Point.. loose women.." Rhett smiled faintly. "Could you ever believe that I would marry into so safe a family? But I did. And I thought I was very fortunate-"

Tears began to sting Scarlett's eyes. "Our families are very respectable, aren't they? My family and yours.. I've been envying the Wilkes family. They always acted as if they were true Georgians. I was always on the outside looking in- Oh, Rhett-" Scarlett threw her arms around his neck once again.

"I never really wanted you to close your mills or your store. I never want you to stop your restoration of Tara. I've told you before. I am proud of having a smart wife- It doesn't bother me that you can ride alone in buggies or deal with a hundred field-hands, manage my money or-"

"But you would like me to depend on you once in a while, to share my genuine vulnerabilities so that you could love me and keep me safe?"

"Yes. Would you like that?"

"I would like it very much." said Scarlett and buried her head in the nape of his neck.


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36 (Continued from last chapter...)**

Rhett's fingers slowly began to trace the line from her neck to the small of her back. They slid further below and Scarlett flushed at the pleasant sensation of his warm palms against the bare skin of her curving bottom. He caressed her so gently and so firmly that a sudden rush of feeling tore through Scarlett's nerves. She clutched at Rhett's wide, muscular shoulders and twisted as if she could shrink into further into his enveloping frame. Immediately she felt the reassuring pressure of his hand on the small of her back. "Do you like that?" he asked, his breath hot in her ear.

"Yes" replied Scarlett, her voice muffled from within the folds of Rhett's gown. He kissed her cheek and pressed his hands into the back of her knees so that her legs folded and her bottom slipped further into the cup of his palms. He began to caress her again.

"When you wanted separate bedrooms - When you didn't want my children, I felt very hurt, Scarlett. I pretended not to show it but-"

"Oh, I was a fool to have done it. I despised myself at once for having suggested such an idea for I really enjoyed our long, amusing conversations in bed and the comfort of your arms whenever I woke up terrified from my nightmares-"

"But you went bounced right back from your fears that I wondered if you were frightened at all!"

"Rhett, do listen-" said Scarlett, leaning back and looking into his eyes. "I.. I've never thought it much attractive to live a woman's life. I was smarter than most boys my age and I couldn't understand why I had to act all coy and demure just to attract a husband. And after years of learning to dance and dreaming of attending parties and coquetry with beaus, a girl really enjoys displaying everything she's learnt for only a period as short as a year! After that, she must dress is dove-grays and blacks, sit out dances unless it is with her own husband, belong in the matrons circle and have babies every year. I.. I hated the very idea of being a woman. I called Charles a sissy and Frank, an old maid in britches- The only man I couldn't break was you and I tried to hard to compete with you- To not appear weak-"

"I knew that" replied Rhett, softly. "It doesn't bother me if you fight against all the men in the world. I would feel only pride because that is what I have always felt. I've enjoyed it, actually. But I also know that even you, Scarlett O Hara would need someone to care for you once in a while. You had the potential for putting yourself in the oddest scrapes and since I was as much a rascal as you, I could pull you through."

"Getting Belle to hide our men in her sporting house-" admitted Scarlett, reminiscently. "No one else could have pulled it off but you. And what if the men had stood on trial and been hanged? Oh, the entire town would have thrown me out."

"No they wouldn't" said Rhett immediately. "But you would have muddled your head with guilt and fear. You would have gulped down more brandy and wondered why you couldn't be the good girl you always intended to be- And deep down, it would have hurt, although you would be too proud and frightened to admit it."

"Rhett, did you really know all that about me.. I mean, did you really know all this before?"

"Well, not at first. At first I thought you were the most interesting person, I'd ever met. You were no lady then-" Rhett chuckled, softly. "You satisfied all my guesses of a woman's hidden steel of strength and her calculating tactfulness in dealing with men. You were wonderfully transparent because you were just like me. But then I caught you, genuinely frightened and confused and frankly, you had the silliest fabrication of ideas. Even sillier than the most simple-headed woman. That's when I realized that you were very much a child still. A strong-willed, brave, frightened child. And I wanted to protect you."

Rhett bent down and took her lips in his. He kissed her once, very gently, very briefly and placed his mouth near her ear as if to whisper a secret. "But you know, Scarlett. I think you would make a wonderful woman." The affectionate emphasis in his tone sent Scarlett's pulse racing. "A beautiful lady." He cupped his hand along the side of her face and kissed her again. His fingernails grazed her straining neck. "I don't know why you desire to hide that part of yourself from me."

Scarlett's eyes focused hazily on the small, cozy glow of light from the candelabra behind Rhett. She thought how lovely the light glimmered just then and how warm the room seemed to be. Her senses felt lulled, swamped by an barrage of pleasant emotions and she fidgeted impatiently in Rhett's strong arms. She wanted him to kiss her long and hard. She wanted to feel his hands all over her, pulling her into the soft, swirling darkness. A anticipatory tingle ran through her spine at the thought and Scarlett bit her lips automatically so that they would turn redder and more desirable. Her fingernails dug urgently into his arm.

"Don't you realize-" continued Rhett."-that as long as you bully people around and play the traits of a man, you are pushing me to my feminine side?"

"When have I ever done that to you?" asked Scarlett, in genuine puzzlement.

Rhett laughed outright at the astonishment on her face. "Well, darling- you were riding out to your mills and store everyday, coming home completely preoccupied with the expenses and business engagements, drinking brandy and playing whist with white trash- and whenever I was home, I nurtured your children, I went around making friends with the old ladies of our Southern society so that Bonnie could have a secure social life, I cured her thumb-sucking, I held her hand at night and listened to her fears-"

Scarlett's face fell and she opened her mouth to defend herself but Rhett interrupted her with an air of finality, "We shall leave that thought as it is, for now." He gathered her in his arms and laid her upon his bed. He sat down beside her and raised her hand to his lips. His other hand began to stroke the soft underside of her arm. Scarlett squirmed deeper into the pillows and Rhett leaned into her, forcing her eyes to meet his dark ones. "But I think you must agree that just as being constantly strong is a strain on your nerves, being constantly weak is a strain on mine. I don't mind nurturing and caring for a little while but it is practically impossible for me to do it all the time." His eyes narrowed instantly. "You do agree, don't you? Nod your head!" Scarlett nodded once, disliking the sudden change of tone in his voice. Rhett turned her palm upwards and kissed it softly. "Now don't pout, Scarlett. I haven't made any unfair demands-"

"I am not pouting." retorted Scarlett, annoyed that he could read her thoughts so plainly. But she couldn't resist quipping, "Well, next you'll be congratulating yourself that it only takes proper handling to turn me into a clinging vine!"

"You still remember that?" chuckled Rhett softly. "I was only teasing you, Scarlett. When are you ever going to learn to laugh at yourself?" He placed another kiss on the hollow of her hand and a flow of vitality seemed to surge from his warm mouth to her body. Despite herself, she wished that he would take her up in his arms and kiss her. "And as for proper handling, I never did a thing. It was you who came to me for solving your troubles at Tara. Asking me honestly and sincerely for help without your usual artful manipulations."

"Oh!" Scarlett relaxed at once into her most engaging smile. Her eyes sparkled invitingly at him.

"That's better." whispered Rhett. His lips travelled to her wrist and he rubbed gently on her delicate skin. He felt her muscles tense up and asked, "You do appreciate your womanly qualities, don't you?"

"What are they?" managed Scarlett, struggling to keep herself composed. She wriggled her trembling wrist from under Rhett's lips and tucked her arms above her head to keep them safely away. But the moment she did so, she wanted to bring them back down again, for Rhett's eyes were immediately drawn to her arching breasts. "I believe they have grown fuller than moments ago-" he remarked, with an unmistakable glint in his eyes.

"Don't be vulgar" cried Scarlett, blushing hard and lowering her arms. But Rhett laughed and held them back. "Now don't swell up like a gobbler, Scarlett. I apologize for my lascivious speculation. Perhaps I am wrong. Perhaps your lovely breasts are always so full and enticing. They've been concealed away from me for so long that I have stupidly forgotten their shapely beauty." Scarlett wished hard that Rhett's gaze didn't rest so heavily on her reddening face or that his voice didn't carry that oddly pleasant resonance, for his words, as coarse and boorish as they were, were stirring strange excitement in her. She chanced an awkward glimpse at her bosom and fervently wished it wouldn't heave so visibly. Rhett noticed her glance and continued in a suggestive tone. "On second thoughts, perhaps if I caressed them just right, there is a fair chance that they might enlarge even more, don't you think?". He bent his face lower and placed a warm, lingering kiss on the pit of her stomach. "Come, come darling- Don't take such nervous breaths. I knew long back that you were just as sensual as me-"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you love to sense things, intricately, fully, forcefully.. I do too. Your passion for eating rich foods, doused in champagne and sweet sauces, to dress in velvets, silks and feathers, to dance to the liveliest reels and sing the merriest tunes. A regular little rebel to Southern womanhood of demure grace and patient endurance. But the difference between you and me is I take time to enjoy my senses. I don't shove food down my throat or gambol about like a frenzied kitten from one plaything to another. I know that if I fly about like that I can never gratify my senses."

Rhett laid a brown finger on her face and tantalizingly traced the curving outline of her lips. "I prefer to relish things slowly-"

"Is that what you did- at Belle's house- those seven course banquets and fine music- Is that why everyone was so outraged? Because it was all so sensual?"

"Perhaps. Yes, It was a very sensually gratifying place - good food, good wine, good music, perfumes and velvets-"

"That must be why Mrs. Meade was whispering so excitedly about the three-layered chandeliers and the full length gilt mirrors-" mumbled Scarlett, thoughtfully. "I never wondered about things like that. I just assumed that Belle's house was a dirty place and I shouldn't know anything about since I was a lady-"

"Life there is no different from the two weeks that you and I spent in New Orleans, indulging in every sensual desire." He brushed across her mouth, his lips barely grazing hers, his moustache tickling her skin.

"Is that wrong?" wondered Scarlett, suddenly noticing how attractive his dark eyes were.

"Why don't you tell me?" Rhett's lips were upon hers again, gently nibbling and teasing with every kiss. Now he was parting her lips. Scarlett closed her eyes and felt him leisurely exploring her mouth as if time had slowed down for him and every second lasted for as long as a minute. His hands went around her plump, healthy arms and he half-lifted her from the bed. Scarlett arched and curved under the eruption of a thousand tingling sensations. She could feel his fingers combing away her mass of thick, black hair and coaxing the back of her neck.

With a quick shudder, Scarlett tried to draw back, overwhelmed by the dizzying spell. Rhett had never made love like this before and she had never felt as alive as this before. It felt wonderful and frightening at the same time. Scarlett feebly pushed her arms against Rhett's chest but instead of releasing her, he hugged her tightly to himself.

"It is frightening, isn't it?" whispered Rhett in her ears. He was breathing heavily. "To lose yourself to someone who completely loves every inch of you. It's frightening to think that one could feel so entirely safe and happy, isn't it? That's why I said you needed kissing badly, Scarlett. It might reduce some of that unnecessary self-importance that you attach to yourself-"

Something in his words challenged Scarlett's spirit. When he tried to peck at her lips again, she angrily drew back and accused, "You are equally contemptuous of the feelings of others, just as I am-"

"Wrong, my dear." corrected Rhett, suavely. "I hold contempt for people who are hypocritical. But wherever I found frankness, I have dropped my sarcasm and tried to be genuinely kind. You are different. Miss. Melly loved you with such fierce loyalty, but you held her in contempt, calling her a ninny and a mealy-mouthed fool. You were offended by Mammy even though she honestly called us both, mule in horse harness, you bullied even your own two children - In short, you speak contemptuously of people and bully them to hide your own faults!"

As he spoke the words, rage began to build up in Scarlett's chest. Rhett was speaking the truth but it sounded absolutely brutal to her ears - especially when she herself had been so forgiving of his shortcomings just moments ago. And here he was, cruelly shedding light on all her flaws. She glared fiercely at Rhett for a moment and then tried to get up. But Rhett quickly pinned her down. "What are you thinking?" he asked, his curiosity stirred by the spirited play of emotions on her face. "Tell me..."

Scarlett pushed defiantly at his chest and retorted, "If you think you can say hateful things and still make love to me, you are mistaken."

"Of course I can. I haven't said anything hateful or untrue. And I will make love to you-"

"No you can't. I won't let you."

"Of course I can." said Rhett, a little surprised by her sudden spark of Irish temper. "There is nothing for you to allow or disallow here. I can point out the bad things that you do, if I want to.. and I can call you a good girl and kiss you, if I want to. And I do want to." As if to prove his point, he leaned closer to her. Scarlett tried to twist her head away but Rhett's warm mouth closed over hers in a passionate kiss. Her arms struggled up but his own were powerful enough to hold them to the sides.

When he drew back, she couldn't meet his eyes. And turning her head to the nearest pillow, she buried her face and began to cry angry tears. Rhett watched her in frank astonishment. "Now Scarlett, why are you crying? What have I said that has hurt you so?" There was no answer. Rhett gently gripped her shaking shoulders and wrenched her back to face him. "Come here, Scarlett. There's a darling. You trust me, don't you? You know I would never unfairly laugh at you. Now why are you crying?." He pulled out a handkerchief and began to dab at her eyes.

"I am not really an unkind person" said Scarlett, dolorously. She blew her nose in his handkerchief. "But if I don't bully people, they will find out.."

"Find out what, honey?"

"They will find out that I'm not good enough." Fresh tears sprang up and brimmed Scarlett's eyes, giving her pupils a bright green color.

Rhett's eyebrows shot up in thick crescents with swift understanding. He took the handkerchief from her fumbling hands and fluffed her pillows about her. "Now, who told you that you weren't good enough?" he asked, more kindly.

"I don't know." shrugged Scarlett, dully. "But I do get so frightened, Rhett. I get frightened and so unsure of things but I can't tell anyone. I have to be harsh, you see. When Melly was nice to me, I thought she was trying to show how goody-goody she was. She'd put her arm around me or kiss me and she'd be doing it for her silly notions that I was someone good."

Rhett placed her hands together and kissed her fingertips. "I suppose, when you were a little girl, there were times when you were genuinely sad or afraid and you needed a kiss or a hug and no one gave it to you. But every other useless time, someone did and it meant nothing?"

"Yes. Oh God, how did you know?!" Scarlett gasped in shock.

"Instead you were shamed into good behavior? So, you naturally thought that you were a bad person?"

"Yes." Scarlett's eyes swimming with more tears. "Rhett, my Mother set such a high standard. I felt ashamed to even think of romping about with her. I wasn't anything she wanted me to be. I don't know why." Her voice began to tremble. "Suellen would always irritate me with her constant whining and once I threw a buttered biscuit at her head at the dining table and Mother looked at me with such pained eyes that I was instantly shamed to tears. I was always so wild and impulsive. Everything that she wasn't. So later on, every time I was rude to someone, or I lied, cheated, I felt utter remorse because my Mother would be ashamed to see me-."

"The feeling of being constantly unworthy and inadequate?"

"Yes. Constantly!" effused Scarlett, grateful that someone understood her feelings at last. "Nothing was enough."

"My father professed that he was a mild-mannered man. But as a little boy, when I disobeyed him or talked back, he would make me stand all day at the front porch so that everyone coming and leaving the house, would know what a bad person I was. I was supposed to feel ashamed of myself and change for the better. Now, as much as I pretended it didn't hurt, in the end, my father was a very well-respected gentleman in Charleston. So, he did set a standard and I did feel ashamed that I couldn't meet it. But Scarlett, once I left home and met other people, I realized that I had nothing to be ashamed of. My father's principles and standards were outdated and useless. I met varieties of people and I learnt that I wasn't as bad as them and that I should value myself-"

"Mr. Westley made me feel that way. He's richer than I am and his ideas are more mixed up than mine. And everyone thinks he is such a fine gentleman. Well, everyone can go to pot!"

"I suppose Mr. Westley's true colors raised your opinion of yourself so much so that, you finally summoned your courage and straightforwardly asked me for help?"

"Yes" said Scarlett, grinning suddenly.

"Ah well, did you ever stop to think, Scarlett, that people can do whatever they want? Tomorrow when you try to befriend your field-hands, they might accept your olive branch and it wouldn't be because of you... or they might walk away in scorn and it wouldn't be because of you.. You can't think of yourself as so ridiculously important a person that everything everyone thinks or feels is because of something you've done or said. People can do whatever they want. You can't control them." Rhett's fingers traced the outline of her lips again. "Now what you have to work on is your wicked habit of manipulating people with your lies, tricks, smiles and tears. And you must think of yourself as a good person, not because you are wealthy or intelligent.. but because you just do. Do you understand? Have a little compassion for yourself- And once you do, you'll find you are able to laugh at your weaknesses and tolerate the silliness in others."

Rhett continued,

"Once I climbed up in life, I decided not to be ashamed of anything. And I never was. I wasn't ashamed of making money by fraudulent means, going to brothels, flaunting my riches, snubbing others, killing people in bar fights- I wasn't ashamed of anything!"

"I know. I tried so hard to make you feel ashamed. But the only thing that you were ashamed of was growing sentimental and joining the army!" Scarlett giggled suddenly, her voice sounding very melodious to Rhett's ears. "You are impossible!"

"But I did feel afraid."

"Why ever for?"

"Well, shame is supposed to limit a person to things that are meant for him. I was unashamed of everything. So, frankly, I had no limits on what I could do, or what I couldn't do" Rhett shrugged lightly. "And I was afraid that my utterly shameless nature might hurt others who could love me. That I might hurt them when I trod over their delicately framed rules and ideas. That night after Miss. Melly's reception, the night I made love to you, I was extremely afraid."

"Why?"

"There were no limits to anything that I could do. I could do anything to you and I did. I am never ashamed for it. But I was afraid that my utterly shameless love-making might have hurt you. I was afraid that you would laugh at me in your usual contemptuous way. If you could accept me with all my unashamed appetites, then you truly are angelic." Rhett's fingertips traced imaginary lines along the sides of Scarlett's bosom and hips but descended no further. His dark eyes twinkled merrily at her. "I believe that you are a little less uppity than moments ago."

"Yes, I am." replied Scarlett, relaxing under the pleasant sensations once again.

"And you aren't going to bully people anymore?"

"I'll try not to."

"And you aren't going to burst into tears like an impetuous child for every little truth I say-"

"No." said Scarlett, smiling and bringing out the dimples in her cheeks.

"Good. And now you are going to beg me to kiss you until your lips turn very red and swollen?"

Scarlett deliberately tucked her arms under her head and gave a coy smile of invitation.

Rhett grinned and traced the soft, sensitive underside of her breasts with soft wet kisses. And when Scarlett was breathing evenly enough, he claimed her lips again. This time he did not allow her to squirm her head away neither did she feel inclined to. His lips travelled down her throat and once more explored her breasts and narrow waist. Ignoring her soft pleas, he turned her over and combed her hair away from her neck. He began his kisses there and his warm lips slowly travelled down and lingered at the small of her back. He turned her over once again, reached for the back of her knees and tickled the delicate skin underneath. He felt her legs stiffen and grow tensed. She parted her legs once but Rhett ignored her and continued to torment her with kisses. When he at last rested his head on her bosom, he heard her heart thump as fast as a rabbit and watched that her face was contorting out of pure sensual arousal. Scarlett sighed audibly now, almost threatening to cry if he excited her anymore. So, Rhett finally left her alone.


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter 37**

"Darling, have you ever heard the story of a particularly large woman, a dowager, very much in the formidable shape of our charming Mrs. Merriweather who had a particular fancy for wearing plunging necklines and tiny, rather insufficient corsets?. The neighbors turned a blind eye until they observed the odd coincidence that whenever the dowager visited her personal doctor, her bosom seemed to grow a few inches more!"

Scarlett's eyes remained closed but she began to giggle, for despite herself she was unable to imagine the story without Rhett's wicked reference to Mrs. Merriweather. Why, the doctor could be Dr. Meade! She opened her eyes and found Rhett's face inches from her own breasts and his fingers once again teasing the soft undersides. She grew confused. While she listened to his oddly pleasant resonant voice, she found herself thinking of the large-bosomed dowager but in reality it was her own breasts that were being fondled. She knew she ought to push his hands away and she knew she shouldn't listen. But curiosity won the struggle over modesty and she listened on.

"Now after the third visit, her breasts were so large and full that they threatened to spill out of her dress! Naturally this alarmed the modest women although I daresay the men rather looked forward to such naughty events. They didn't know exactly what the good doctor was doing but it was a known fact that the doctor had a hands-on approach. He could press and knead the sickness out of his patients-"

Scarlett choked with mirth for Rhett was telling his ribald story with such a sober,straight face!

"So one day, just as the dowager was leaving the doctor's home, they cornered her and popped the burning question. The dowager fumbled for words but the doctor's nurse came to the rescue. She put her head out of the window and assured the party that the doctor was only treating the dowager for her acute breathing condition. When the people finally left, one woman lingered behind to comment that if only the dowager would stop wearing those pitifully small corsets, she could breathe much better. The attendant agreed. She said that's what the doctor said, every time he sheared off the dowager's corset and massaged the breath back into her chest-"

Scarlett collapsed into another fit of giggles and Rhett quietly parted her legs, slipped his hand in and examined her. She immediately stopped giggling and a red blush spread over her cheeks for she had been wet for quite some time now. His eyes never left her face and he remarked as he withdrew his hand, "I have never seen you look more doe-eyed or pretty." Scarlett dimpled at once and pushing her knees aside, he gave her bottom an approving swat. Then he got up and began to undress.

"Rhett?"

"Yes,darling?"

"You still didn't tell me what womanly qualities you wanted from me-"

Rhett glanced in Scarlett's direction and saw her lounging on his bed, her hands playfully twisting the coils of her black hair around her fingers. Her green eyes now carried a strange softness in them. They were very mellow and utterly bewitching. When Scarlett felt Rhett's gaze, her mouth curved to a smile and she gracefully swung her hips towards him. The rest of her body followed slowly after in one smooth, seductive movement.

"Oh, they are beautiful qualities-" answered Rhett, mesmerized by the sudden streak of boldness in her."-caring selflessly for others, trusting implicitly, being sincere and honest, being calm in the midst of uncertainty, nurturing the good in others- These are things that only a woman can do." He blew out the candles and approached the bed, the moonlight upon his brown face. "I could never compete with you there-"

"Well" acquiesced Scarlett, graciously. She reached up and entwined her arms around his neck. "If that is what is meant in being a woman, then I wouldn't mind being one."

"I am glad to hear you say that" said Rhett, feeling her legs part under him as he stretched himself upon her.

"But you were the one to tell me not to worry and tell the world to go to hell-"

"Well, I'll leave that up to your discretion. I said a lot of damned things before, Scarlett. I wanted to make you fall in love with me. I wanted you to see that I meant no harm."

"And I picked up all those cynical, sarcastic words and phrases from you, Rhett. What you say now contradicts with everything you said before."

"Well, Bonnie's death opened my eyes to several glaring truths about myself. I realized that I wasn't above anybody else and had to take my share of pain in this hell we live in-"

She felt Rhett's moustache tickle her lips. "I hope I have a little boy as dark-eyed and handsome as you."

Rhett paused a moment before answering. "I hope you do too." He placed his mouth near her ear and whispered, "Can I really kiss you now?"

Scarlett's eyes widened in surprise at the absurdity of the question. "Kiss me?!" she began, hotly. "What do you think you've been doing for so-" Feeling his hot breath upon her face, Scarlett abandoned her sentence and surrendered entirely to his passion.

* * *

They lay, wrapped in each other's arms in the stillness of the night. Scarlett was wide awake, staring quietly at the rising wisps of smoke from Rhett's cigar. She sighed.

"What are you thinking of, Scarlett?"

"Tomorrow, when I go to Tara, if I don't bully the people into submission, then they might know my weaknesses-"

"Yes?"

Scarlett sat up and looked at Rhett. "Listen Rhett, if I talk to Suellen, tell her that I am just as afraid as her about the safety of Tara, then she'd know I was weak and the first question she would ask me is why I took Frank Kennedy away from her. She will. I know she will. She wrote the most frightful letter, full of the bluntest truths about my character when she heard that I had stolen Frank away from her. And if I speak openly now, I know that she will hate me. Careen is a real sugar baby but Suellen has a tongue as sharp as mine!"

"Then you have to explain yourself her."

"But that's not fair. I did so much for Tara. If Suellen had married Frank, she would have spent all of Frank's money on expensive clothes for herself, because that is all she ever wanted. She wouldn't have cared about Tara at all. That's why I had to do it-"

"Then, tell that to her. It's the truth, isn't it?"

Scarlett blinked at this. Rhett laughed softly. "I told the truth about myself, didn't I? The only person I have ever bullied is you, Scarlett. Once I found you that you were just as sensual as me.. you remember the night at your Aunt Pitty's porch? All I had to do was kiss your wrist and your hands were trembling and you were shaking like a leaf. I was absolutely thrilled."

Scarlett playfully slapped his cheek when she heard this.

"I used that to bully you into marrying me. And I bullied you again after Miss. Melly's reception- But that was only because I wasn't as good a lover. I didn't know how to bring out your emotions and really love you. I told you all this just now-"

"But I forgave you"

"Yes."

"Suellen and everybody else I've never manipulated might not be as forgiving as me, Rhett." said Scarlett, worriedly. "What if they cut me off?"

"Then, you can't do anything about it, can you?"

Scarlett looked downcast and Rhett continued,

"People can do whatever they want, Scarlett. You cannot control them. When you came running home after Miss. Melly's death and told me that you were such a fool and that you loved me all along, what did I say?"

"You told me not to be humble before you-"

"That's right. I never wanted that. I don't want you to come to me out of fear or shame. Because I'm really not any better than you." Scarlett gazed at him, confused. "All right, when I finally confessed the truth about myself, why didn't you throw it in my face and walk away?"

Scarlett looked bemused. "Well, Rhett.. we have so much in common and you are terribly amusing.. all those ribald stories you tell.. My sides are still aching with laughter."

"Well, maybe Sister Sue and everybody else might find something attractive in you too. You will never know until you try."


	38. Chapter 38

**Hello all, sorry for the brief haitus.. :) I sortof lost my muse to write.. :D Oh well, on with the story..**

**RMB: Thanks for your support!**

* * *

**Chapter 38**

Scarlett turned the large key in the lock to the basement quarters and handed it to Pork. "There's enough food and water for Cobbs and Cotton for the day. Mister Rhett has told them to stay put so that Mr. Westley's men can't find them and kill them. So, under no condition are you allowed to let anyone take this key, do you understand, Pork?"

"Yes,Miss. Scarlett. I won't let this key out of my sight!"

"Good." replied Scarlett, smiling for just a brief moment before worry filled her eyes. She wondered if Will would have gotten things under control yesterday. She wondered over the ten men who were taken into custody. She wondered if the police would inquire over Boy's mysterious death. And the more she wondered, the more anxious and determined she became. Rhett was right. She needed the support of her hundred field-hands. She needed it desperately if she were to fight things out with Mr. Westley.

"But I mustn't show them that I am desperate.. they might-" Scarlett stopped and remembered Rhett's words.

"Oh dear.. and after I had promised him so faithfully that I wouldn't bully anyone-" thought Scarlett, ruefully. _"But I'm so afraid."_

* * *

Scarlett arrived at Tara by mid-morning and was at once heartened to see nearly all the field-hands tilling the burnt grounds and clearing away the blackened soil. Will was standing out in the fields and as soon as he saw her, he motioned for her to stay by the carriage. Scarlett waited as he hobbled up to her. She chanced a look at the house and saw Suellen standing by the doorway. As soon as her eyes met her sister's, Suellen shot the nastiest glare and stormed inside. Scarlett gazed after her, a smirk hardening on her face. She wasn't wholly surprised by Suellen's rudeness. In fact, she congratulated herself on having expected it.

"Scarlett, you better not come down to the fields today-" said Will, interrupting her thoughts as he finally stood next to her.

"Why not? What do you mean?"

"Well, the men are pretty much upset about those ten blacks who were arrested last night. I've gotten them to work now but one can never tell when another fight may break out. And the police were here all day yesterday. They plagued Suellen with questions over Boy's death and unfortunately, some of Suellen's friends, were down here.. and well, you can imagine her embarrassment-"

"I suppose the news is all over the County by now that I've made a mess of things here at Tara!" Scarlett sounded very bitter and angry.

"Most of it is idle gossip and I don't think you should pay much attention to it. It's the seed poisoning that set the tongues wagging-"

"What did the police say about it? Did they ask about Cobbs and Cotton?"

"Well, they know that Cobbs and Cotton had done the poisoning. But they didn't ask any questions because I think old Mr. Westley's somehow silenced them with enough money. Something's going on...that's for sure. I think they are trying to pin the blame for Boy's death on one of our field-hands-"

"Perhaps if I could talk-"

"There ain't nothing you can say right now, Scarlett. I reckon tomorrow might be a better day. I know that you're upset and upset folks always say the wrong things. One wrong word now and we might have another rampage. I think you ought to go into the house, rest up a bit and collect your thoughts."

Scarlett grudgingly gave into the Will's common sense. "I suppose Suellen has started griping about me-"

"She's was as mad as a hornet yesterday when her friends heard first hand news from the police of all the goings-on here-"

"Oh, Suellen's friends are all as silly and vain as her!"

"That may be." answered Will. "But they are all the friends she's got! Grandma Fointaine had been here just this morning-"

"Thank the saints I missed her!" said Scarlett, with a heartfelt sigh of relief.

"Suellen's mad about that too. Goodness, that old lady can yell some pretty mean truths-"

"I suppose I'll get to hear all this from her when I enter the house."

Will grinned lightly. "Well, Scarlett - she is your sister. But don't go picking on her. What's done is done and nothing can be changed. We just got to learn to move on from here and mend things back the way they were. I know it's not going to be easy but Rhett gave me some hopes. I suppose he's gone in search of those sharecropping documents. He told me all about it and I thought it was the sensible thing to do-"

Scarlett nodded glumly. "But Will, don't you see, that even if he got all the documents and we brought Cobbs and Cotton as witnesses, the police may take a entirely different view of the matter and take Tara away from us?"

Will took her hand and patted it reassuringly. "Don't worry, Scarlett. We'll manage things somehow."

* * *

Scarlett entered the house, her eyes narrow and spirited. If Suellen was going to give her any trouble, she'd show her! It was such a pity that she was stuck with such a vain fool of a sister! Suellen saw her and her lips trembled with unspoken emotions which Scarlett guessed would be terribly scathing. She raised her eyebrow faintly and walked into the parlor room.

The air was decidedly tense.

"Where were you yesterday?" began Suellen, angrily. "Did you know that Will had to go tramping about constantly from the police to your precious Pine Grove and back to Tara all day yesterday? And he hasn't had a moment's rest! Not with all those murderous blacks that you've surrounded us with!"

Scarlett's eyes instantly blazed with spirit. "Looks as if you couldn't wait a moment to blame everything on me! What did all of your friends say? They must have laughed at you when you fumbled with explanations for the riot and Boy's death!"

Suellen's mouth flew open in outrage.

Scarlett smirked spitefully at once, happy to aggravate Suellen into fury. "I suppose its pricked your vanity!"

Suellen disappeared for just a moment before stomping back into the parlor. She threw the chine blue dress at Scarlett's head. Little Susie trailed vaguely behind her mother's skirts, wondering at all the commotion. "There! You wicked manipulating thing, you can take the dress back! I should have never let you talk me into this sharecropping nonsense! Now, you've made us a stench in the County. You don't know what everybody's saying-"

"Oh, and you've always cared so much about what everybody else says! Everybody happens to be jealous!"

"Grandma Fontaine spoke some pretty smarting words about you. She called your schemes a disgrace to Mother's memory and I told her everything you did. I told her how you charged extra for everything and how your encouraged those three field-hands to bully everyone in the fields. Grandma can't wait to give you a piece of her mind!"

A cold streak of apprehension ran through Scarlett's heart for she feared the old lady's sharp words. "Well, I'll tell her about how you never lifted a finger to help. I'll tell her how I had to slog in the fields, managing and supervising everything and all you've done is whine and complain! And as for this dress-" Scarlett folded it up, triumphantly. "I'm glad you returned it, you ungrateful ninny. You are so fat, it looked terrible on you in the first place-"

Suellen's lips trembled and she was on the verge of hot tears. Scarlett called after her as Suellen went into the kitchen with Mammy. The severe look on Mammy's face, warned Scarlett not to speak her mind so brutally. Suellen began to bawl inconsolably.

Scarlett moodily sat down at the kitchen table, watching her sister garner Mammy's moral support.

"Miss. Scarlett, you best not be picking on your sister. Miss. Suellen, you've got to stop crying for everything thing that Miss. Scarlett says. You know she doesn't mean it-"

"She's as hateful as ever! After everything that's happened - the riot, the fires and even the murder, she doesn't even show her face until a day later and now she acts as if she had nothing to do with this entire scandal! She's shamed our family!"

A twinge of hurt twisted Scarlett's face. This was exactly what she knew Suellen would say.

"And if you think I'll lift one finger to manage that beastly meal kitchen of yours for the field-hands, you are very much mistaken!" continued Suellen, wiping tears from her eyes. "I'll never boss people around like you. It's hateful and unladylike and you know it. We were brought up to be fine ladies with sweetness and decency-"

"According to you, being lady-like is plumping yourself in front of the mirror all day and powdering your nose." laughed Scarlett, scornfully. She tried to sound light-hearted but Suellen's words had cut her more deeply than she cared to admit. "And as for all your wailing, I brought sharecropping to Tara with the best of intentions. By himself, Will couldn't have tilled the entire fields and pretty soon, the forest would have crept back into our lands. I wanted Tara to look like the days before the war, when Pa and Mother were alive and we were all so happy together. I never thought this riot would break out. And while you are moaning about this being a scandal, you might remember that I am just as frightened as you are-"

"Ha! You.. frightened? That's a joke!"

Mammy ushered Scarlett back out into the hall and as Scarlett climbed the stairs to her room, she felt drained of her energy.

But Suellen was not finished with her. She wiped her eyes and stormed after Scarlett. "Were you frightened when you took Mr. Kennedy away from me?" she called as Scarlett was half way up the stairs. Her eyes gleamed with spite and Scarlett's own green eyes became as hard as gimlets.

"I didn't think you deserved him, to be absolutely frank. If you married Frank Kennedy, Tara wouldn't have seen even a few pounds of his money. All you would have done was to buy yourself new clothes, give yourself airs, attend parties and flatter yourself about how lady-like you were. You wouldn't have cared about Tara!"

"You stole him from me!"

"I don't regret it at all. And your vanity hasn't lessened a bit! You are still selfish and conceited, whimpering and whining at the slightest bit of hard work!" Scarlett slammed the door to her room and bit back angry tears. Rhett was wrong. Suellen was just as mean and nasty as ever and the only way to get any cooperation from her was to bully her into it.

* * *

Scarlett sat in her room for a long time, disliking the forced solitude and yet wishing to be left alone. She thought of Careen and wished she was there to take the sting out of Suellen's words. Careen was always so sweet and unworldly. And she'd support Scarlett even if Scarlett manipulated her into doing things.

There was a knock on the door and Suellen peeped inside.

"What do you want?" asked Scarlett, morosely.

"I'm going to Fanny August's house. We have our own sewing circle there. You remember Fanny?"

"Yes, Sally Munroe's school friend. I know her-"

"Do you want to come with me?"

"Why?" asked Scarlett, suspiciously.

Suellen shrugged. "Will told me that he didn't want you talking to the field-hands today and I suppose I don't want you sulking here all by yourself."

"I am not sulking."

"Oh come, Scarlett. It'll help you take your mind of things. Fanny has a large, rambling place, newly renovated and all our old friends will be there."

"Wouldn't my presence be a scandal to you?" asked Scarlett, sarcastically.

"You weren't entirely wrong when you told me that I was vain. And believe it or not, after I lost Frank to you, my vanity suffered quite a bit." Suellen laughed awkwardly. "And Will was so terribly nice. Scarlett, you don't know how it was. Everyone hated me for pushing poor Father to his death. That was a scandal in itself. I only took him out to Mother's grave and reminded him that Mother was dead and he should stop his childish notions that she was still alive. Father cried like a baby and then I made him sign the Ironclad oath. He was livid with anger. Everyone hated me when he died but Will was so kind. Until then I didn't know what love was. He protected me and .." Suellen hesitated awkwardly. "I suppose I never really cared about Frank Kennedy. Isn't that silly? After all the fuss I made over him?"

Scarlett was taken aback by this unexpected speech from Suellen. She didn't even know how to respond.

"Well, are you coming or not?"

Scarlett nodded once and began to get ready.


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter 39**

_"Suellen ain't as bad as you think, Scarlett. I think we'll get along right well. The only trouble with Suellen is that she needs a husband and some children and that's just what every woman needs."_

Scarlett recalled these simple words spoken by Will as he sat alongside her on the rattling wagon, chewing on his straw and telling of her Pa's death and of his intentions to marry Suellen. Scarlett had hardly given any serious consideration to Will's words. She understood that Will was marrying Suellen to stay on at Tara and Suellen had resigned herself to marrying Will just as Scarlett had resigned herself to marrying old Frank. Scarlett never realized that there might be genuine affection between Suellen and Will.

"Scarlett, do you remember this white frock?" asked Suellen, nodding towards little Susie who was sitting between them in the carriage. "Rhett bought it for her as a Christmas present and it was a size too big. I saved it carefully for later and Susie likes it very much, don't you, sweetheart?" She gave Susie a little squeeze and her daughter, who was inclined to be in a good temperament that day, immediately replied, "Yes, Mama." and gave Scarlett a quick, shy smile.

"She looks sweet in white." said Scarlett, patting the curls on Susie's head.

Suddenly Suellen straightened up and said in a rush, "Scarlett, I still think you are mean and hateful as ever but I'm really sorry for all the nasty things I said to you. After Bonnie died, I thought I should never fight with you again. Oh, I'm not trying to sympathize- But good God, Scarlett, I could never have borne it as well as you. I.. I couldn't bear to think of anything happening to my Susie! When we were waiting downstairs for the Bonnie's body, you should have seen Rhett's face. I mean, I didn't expect much civility in the wake of such a tragedy.. but it was as if he was in a trance. He could even speak two words to his own Mother. And.. there you were so steady and sensible-" Suellen raised her eyebrows. "You were always far more sensible than Baby and me. When Mother and Father died, I mean.. but losing Bonnie- such a young, lively little girl.. and in a riding incident! It..it must have broken your heart!"

Scarlett, utterly surprised by Suellen's recital was vaguely at a loss for what to say. She gazed distrustfully at Suellen, wondering if her tattle-tale sister was angling for gossip.

_"-you ain't given much thought to what's been going on in anybody's head here at Tara. I ain't blaming you, Scarlett. That's just your way. Your warn't never very much interested in what was in folk's heads-_

Will's words echoed once again.

Scarlett had heard similar sentiments about Bonnie's death from Aunt Pitty and Melanie. But she could dismiss them with her contempt. But Suellen was never very nice to her and if she was being kind now, then it must be quite genuine.

Scarlett managed a small smile. She noted how Susie's white lace bonnet seemed to uncannily resemble Bonnie's. "We were rather indulgent with Bonnie-" she offered after a long pause. Then she lifted her eyes and queried, "Suellen, how did Will make his declaration to you?" As she asked the question, Scarlett was surprised at not having wondered about this before. "I.. I read your scathing letter after I married Frank and after Frank died in that Klu Klux crossfire, I blamed myself for having taken him away from you. He did love you and not me-"

"If Frank loved me, he would have married me." cut in Suellen, bitterly. "He was always so patronizing about our misfortunes at Tara. Every letter of his was dripping with chivalry about how he was doing everything to save me out of my poverty."

"Oh, you noticed that about old whisker-face too?" cried Scarlett, surprised.

"Oh yes" said Suellen with a shrug. "I didn't let on much then.. but I knew. I never wrote back because I never really knew how to sound so grateful and obliging. Oh, I know I didn't let on much. I was desperate to be married and to wear pretty clothes and go visiting in carriages once again. I wanted nothing more than to have the good old days back again!" Suellen's eyes brightened. "And then Will came along and he was working ever so hard for Tara. Oh Scarlett, if I had married Frank, I would have probably forgotten Tara and gone to live at some dingy old house in Atlanta. But I'm glad things turned out this way." Suellen leaned back in her seat and breathed a sigh of satisfaction. "I realize I love Tara. I love the smell of the country side, the honey suckles and the rambling oak trees! I mean, we are after all, country people.. "

Scarlett smiled when she heard this.

"I didn't like Tara just after the war. The plantation was ruined and Mother was dead. It seemed so unreal. As if Life had played a mean trick on us.. abandoning us, just when we had so much hopes and dreams. I hated Tara then.. but I don't hate it now- Will has been so hardworking. I hardly imagined that we'd have out buttered beans and turnip patches again. He'd weed them out patiently and then worked hard in the farms keeping out the brambles and the pine seedlings." Suellen shifted in her seat. "Now, I know that you're thinking why I can't help you manage your sharecropping. But Scarlett, you can't push me to do things your way. Now take, Fanny August and her sewing circle. She makes the nicest dresses, shawls and things and teaches sewing to the wives of the field-hands at the same time. The skilled ones I mean."

"You mean, you've been helping Fanny manage her field-hands on her tiny farm?!" cried Scarlett, outraged.

"Well, we all have. Fanny, myself, Catherine, Margie.."

"Great balls of fire, you wouldn't lift a finger to help me!"

"You were trying to make me do things your way." snapped Suellen, in equal spirit. "I can't run about and sweat it out in the fields like you. But I don't mind sitting in a comfortable armchair with women seated around and watching my sewing skills. I don't mind that-"

"Well, you could have told me! Helping Fanny when I need so much support! I think you are extremely ungrateful!" Scarlett's eyebrows ran together in anger but she tried to pacify herself. "If you want to do things your way, you could. I won't stand in your way."

Suellen nodded once and then giggled in lively amusement."You know, just the day before yesterday-Will was telling me that Rhett was just the right man for you-"

Scarlett's eyes narrowed at once for she was wary of Will's unfathomable understanding and blatant remarks. "What did he say?"

"Oh, I never egged him, Scarlett. He just came right out and said things on his own and it was quite funny, the way he said it-" Suellen laughed once again and Scarlett's eyes narrowed further. "Stop laughing and tell me, silly!"

"He said he wasn't really sure about Rhett but the day he was at Pine Grove, he got to observing Rhett and he said he reckons Rhett is just the man for you because he doesn't give you too much respect-"

Suellen burst out laughing much to Scarlett's chagrin.

"Well, of all the.. Suellen if you dare tell tales about me to anybody else, I'll give you the hardest slap you've ever had! Why, it's perfectly outrageous.. Rhett doesn't respect anyone for that matter. He would be just as rude and obnoxious to everyone. And you should hear what Will said about you.. he said all you needed was a husband and some children!" Scarlett raised her eyebrows triumphantly.

But Suellen seemed unperturbed. "Yes, that's true. I did want so much to be married and to have a little baby. Three babies, maybe.. just like Mother. Will made his declaration right around the time we went calling on so many of my friends. I think it was right after Careen decided to go to the Charleston convent. We used to ride out together and he'd listen patiently to all the news I'd have to say about my friends." Suellen gave a reminiscent smile. "That was a quality about Will that I liked. He'd always know what a person thought of things and he'd take it with the best of intentions. I used to feel so nervous and anxious before. But he understood that I was really only trying to be a proper lady. He'd somehow know it and he'd understand." Suellen twitched her face awkwardly. "Will is nothing like Father. Father was always so loud and spoke things outright. He'd snap at me so fast I wouldn't even know what I'd done to anger him but that I had been bad. Will's not like that. He'd be terribly honest and curt sometimes but he'd always speak everything clearly so you'd know exactly where you were going wrong."

Scarlett listened quietly to this. She felt mildly surprised that feelings of contempt were not overwhelming her. A few years ago, she would have laughed at Suellen or she might have ignored her bleating altogether. But somehow Scarlett had changed. She still didn't understand Suellen. Will was a good catch for her because he was so hardworking and committed to bringing the best out of Tara. And Will ever gambled on the money, he wasn't greedy or insecure. These were his good points but here was Suellen elaborating on some small strain of his character that was almost of no consequence.

Scarlett shrugged inwardly. She would never really understand Suellen!.


	40. Chapter 40

**Chapter 40**

Scarlett remained thoughtful throughout the entire evening at Fanny August's house. The girls chatted gaily forgetting that Scarlett had once tried her best to steal their beaux away from them. They complimented her clothes and her dark velvet bonnet. They showed her the various items they were sewing and the evening wore on pleasantly. Then as the carriage arrived to take both sisters back to Tara, Scarlett grew determined and instructed the driver to turn off at the street leading to the Fontaine plantation.

"Scarlett, have you gone mad?!" cried Suellen, in swift alarm. "For Heaven's sake, don't lets go to Grandma Fontaine's house. She hates me and she yelled the most horrid things just this morning. And I'm sure she hates you even more. Scarlett, no.. I won't allow you to drag me to her house!"

"Oh, don't be a goose!" scolded Scarlett, irritated. "If Grandma Fontaine has brutal words to say to either of us, we shall face her together. There's no sense in putting off the visit. We both look our best now and we might as well get everything out in the open-"

"Well, you talk to her. I shall be too afraid to speak!"

* * *

Their carriage pulled them along down the winding path through the mimosa trees right up to the newly painted and repaired yellow-stucco house. Sally Fontaine waved to them from the newly tended gardens and rushed up to meet them. Scarlett had to half-pull Suellen outside. Grandma Fontaine, as yellow faced as her stucco house, stood tall and grim at the veranda, her wrinkled face, hard and stern with disapproval. Scarlett greeted her and Suellen inched her way in nervously and awkwardly. The air was very tense and they both sensed that Grandma's sharp tongue was readying itself to lash out at them.

"I suppose my visit this morning has stirred some pang of conscience!" began Grandma tartly. "I heard rumors right from the start about your Father's plantation being given up for sharecropping and about a hundred field-hands being hired to till the grounds. And I thought to myself that the eldest child was a smart one to make use of every opportunity to restore her Father's pride. And then I heard of various underhanded dealings-"

Suellen squirmed uneasily and threw a furtive glance in Scarlett's direction.

"I am ashamed for your Mother. She would have turned in her grave, seeing her daughters mistreat the blacks in her plantation, charging heinous prices for frivolous commodities - clothing, food, water, medicines.. Haven't you learnt anything at all from Ellen O Hara, Miss?"

This curt question was directed at Scarlett and by the manner in which Grandma's hands emotionally wrenched around the crook of her tall cane, Scarlett knew that some kind of reply was expected of her.

"Now Grandma-"

"You may love Tara. But not at the expense of shaming your dear Mother. I don't have to remind you of all the selfless things she used to do for her slaves. She was generosity itself, the pride of your Pa. And here you are, keeping accounts for little, measly things." Grandma's hands shook and the cane nearly slipped to the floor. Sally quickly drew close to the old lady for her health had never been the same after the heart attack years ago. Alex Fontaine had just arrived and he walked in on their party and leaned up against the mantelpiece. Suellen's cheeks grew hot with fear and she diverted her eyes to the floor.

"Mama Fontaine, I'm sure Scarlett-"

"I'm not through yet!" interrupted the old lady, acidly. Her wizened eyes peered at Scarlett once again. "And the murder and riot thereafter- What is it all in aid of? What have you gained by pressing the noses of the blacks to the grindstone?"

"I should have been generous and wise like Mother" spoke up Scarlett, grabbing the small reprieve to put out her views. "But those old days are gone, Grandma. I started out sharecropping at Tara so that the cotton fields would look healthy and blooming with miles and miles of cotton- just like when Pa was alive. I wanted to restore Tara for his sake. Tara's all he ever loved and cared about. Tara was everything to him. But the field-hands of those days just aren't the same now. Did you know that most of them have come under the labor contract out of vagrancy charges? How can I be generous with them and expect them to give me hard labor?"

"Did you tell them this, Miss?" asked Grandma, at once.

"No." replied Scarlett. "And as for the murder, I knew the young boy who was killed. He was one of the smartest men to work the ground. And the riot was the last thing we expected. Don't you see, Grandma, that the blacks don't want to trust us anymore? It isn't like the old days. They are confused about their free rights and-"

"What about the seed poisoning?"

This question came from Alex, who had been listening keenly thus far.

"That was an oversight."

"Not according to rumors. People around here say that the seeds were deliberately poisoned. That the murder has something to do with it-"

"Perhaps they were. But not by me and certainly not by Will or anybody else."

"Are you sure?" asked Alex, his lips curling in plain mockery. Scarlett noticed that his eyes were directed at Suellen's bowed head. "Seed poisoning would account for poor harvest and a convenient increase in tenant debts. Some folks won't stop short of murder for making some money out of their land-"

Something like a choking sound came from Suellen's lips and she rose up, her eyes glimmering with tears. "How dare you-" she whimpered, her lips trembling at Alex's severe taunt.

"Now Alex, you go outside. You aren't making things any easier." said Grandma quietly.

Alex strode off and Grandma turned once more to Scarlett. "I don't know much about the seed poisoning , Scarlett. But I know that you are in trouble.. up to your neck by the looks of it."

Her voice was interrupted by Suellen who had began to sob piteously and was led into one of the inner rooms by a sympathetic Sally Fontaine.

"Why don't you tell your field-hands that their vagrancy charges make you wary and question their willingness to work? Why don't you throw the blame on them instead of hounding them like this in such a cheap manner? Look at me! I had so many slaves. But when the war came, only four house servants were loyal enough to stay behind. The rest of them fled. Likewise, the faithful ones will always stay behind. The rest cannot be helped." Grandma Fontaine reached out her hand and beckoned Scarlett closer. When Scarlett stood next to her, she took her hand in her bony claws and pressed it hard. "Promise me, that you will not expose your Father and Mother's name to further ridicule."

Scarlett nodded in reply.

"Your sister doesn't have half as much sense as you, Miss. I suppose she has swooned on Sally's bed for the heartache Alex has given her."

"Suellen has promised to teach sewing to the black women and perhaps manage the meal kitchen."

"That's a good start. You will need a lot of help if you are going to restore the huge plantation. And I hope you fight your way out of this sordid murder incident-"

"Grandma, for once you've spoken plainly and given good advice, instead of going on about the old days. To be perfectly honest I always lost track of what you were trying to say and have gotten terribly bored."

Grandma's eyes widened at these words from Scarlett. It seemed to Scarlett as if the her old, cracked lips twitched with suppressed mirth.

"But you once called me as hard as a hickory nut and that you liked the way I met things. And even something about buckwheat, bending in the wind and coming right back up once the wind dies down. Perhaps stamping on the necks of lesser folks can be stopped now. I can afford to do better. I shall speak honestly and openly to the blacks. I shall tell them that I cannot trust them and then see what they think of working for me. I'm as sick of this business as anyone else is. I never intended for a riot or a murder. I thought I was dealing with my field-hands with a firm hand. But I see I shall have to adopt a different tack. And you know I would never willfully shame my parents' memory. It is their very memory that makes me want to restore Tara in the first place! We will get through this somehow and Tara will be as fine a plantation as it ever was and someday I shall send for the carriage to bring you home and show you the red fields myself. And perhaps you shall see at least twenty fully satisfied field-hands, singing at the tops of their voices as they bring the cotton from the fields."

"I should live that long, Miss." answered Grandma, grimly. "I am hoping to join the good Doctor any day soon." She gazed long and hard at Scarlett. "You know, I always said you weren't a speck smart about folks. But perhaps there is hope for you. I see you are learning rather late but quickly." Her waxy hands pulled back and she leaned her chin on her cane. A tired, weary look came into her eyes. "And if you want anymore plain speaking, then I'll give it to you. Be smart like a woman, Miss. The time for dollars and cents is over. You've got plenty of money, I gather from that wealthy husband of yours. It's time to start yearning quality company. Don't stay a hard female all your life or you could end up like me-"

Scarlett smiled at this but Grandma shook her head grumpily. "I cannot tolerate silliness and I tend to take charge of every conversation-"

"That is just your way, Grandma. I'm sure old Doctor Fontaine could bring out the softer side in you."

"Oh yes, he took care of me." acquiesced Grandma Fontaine. "But not everyone is as sensible as him. Everyone won't have half as much sense as me or you. And everyone is not going to approve either. People will suspect, accuse and kick up a fuss because everybody needs different things. And a woman understands that better than a man. It gives her a certain happiness when she does-"

* * *

Suellen's shoulders shook from time to time as the carriage rattled along back to Tara. She sniffed and wiped her eyes which were still red and swollen. Susie stared curiously at her mother and then stole a look in Scarlett's direction. Scarlett put a hand on Suellen's arm. "Now stop crying. It's all over. Grandma was quite nice to us when we left-"

"But did you hear what that Alex Fontaine said about me?!" cried Suellen, breaking into fresh tears. "He was accusing me of murdering Father all over again-"

"Hush now!" said Scarlett, taking her sister's head and putting it on her shoulder. "The Fontaine boys were always rather hot with their words and tempers. I admit it was a poor shot on his part seeing as Will wasn't there to defend you. But you know, Grandma once said that Alex could raise better cotton than Tara. Perhaps if I asked him, he might come down to the plantation one day and-"

"Oh no! I couldn't bear to face him again!" yelped Suellen, recoiling in alarm as if a snake had bitten her. "I'd just as soon complain to Will and Will won't let him set one foot on Tara!"

"Then you are cowardly _and_ foolish" retorted Scarlett, in annoyance.

A silence fell between the sisters and Scarlett remained thoughtful the rest of the way.


	41. Chapter 41

**Chapter 41**

The next week saw the faintest transformation in the way Scarlett dealt with people and with circumstances. She could not tell the difference but Will certainly could. He chewed on his straw and watched her through lazy eyes. Yes, there was definitely a change and for the better! Scarlett herself noticed only one thing. That she was immensely happy. More happy than when she saw all the bright sights and sounds during her honeymoon at New Orleans.

* * *

Scarlett was pacing the front parlor of her Pine Grove house, wearing a bright blue and pearl grey morning dress and pulling on her lace gloves. Her hair was piled up in a pile of fashionable ringlets with a very smart blue bonnet on top and a thin ribbon that went around her chin. She was waiting for Pork to bring around her carriage. Just then she heard noises outside and peeped out through the curtains. Rhett was coming down the broad country road on his buggy with a small heap of packages beside him. Scarlett called out a greeting from the window and by the smile on his face, she knew he must have good news.

Scarlett was on the wide, sunny veranda, summoning a hopeful smile on her face. Rhett bent his head and kissed her cheek before walking into the house.

"Rhett, you were able to get the sharecropping documents, weren't you?"

"Oh yes." answered Rhett, depositing his hat and cane on the stand and settling himself in an armchair. One of the servants carried his packages into the hall and he called for the smallest package to be kept on the table beside him. Scarlett asked for coffee and sat down beside Rhett. Her fingers anxiously dug into the armrest.

"I did far better than I hoped." continued Rhett, opening the package and revealing a large box of bonbons wrapped in paper lace. He handed it to Scarlett who dimpled at once and popped one into her mouth. "I found a reliable source-"

"What does that mean?"

"It means I have found someone who can help us cast the entire blame on Mr. Westley. Someone whose word is true and who can produce the finest, most crippling evidence provided I can offer something equally profitable for services rendered-"

"Oh Rhett, who is it?"

"I'd rather not tell." answered Rhett, resolutely. "You might drop hints to Will or your sister Sue and by the evening is out, everyone in and around Tara will know of it-"

"I can keep a secret." retorted Scarlett, with injured dignity. "And more so where Tara is concerned, you know that. Come tell me, Rhett. Is it anyone we know?"

"All will be revealed in good time, my pet. Right now you must be content with knowing that Tara is safe and probably will be, even after we bring your two black refugees to court." His eyes raked her appreciatively. "You look very pretty. Were you preparing to leave for Tara?"

"Yes, I was." replied Scarlett, in a flat voice, still very much put out by Rhett's haughty secretiveness.

"Pretty blue earrings and that lovely pearl chain around your neck - you really know how to make yourself look alluring, darling. And what's this? A new hairstyle? A mass of ringlets, I see. A pretty innovation on your part. I saw few ladies styling their hair the same way last Sunday but none of them pulled it off quite as well as you. You've piled it up so high. That makes a decided difference. And as soon as I alighted from my horse, I knew you were wearing that new long corset underneath your morning dress. Very becoming I must say- it gives your figure a-"

"Oh hush talking, you scamp!" Scarlett's lips twitched with delight upon hearing so many lavishing compliments. "I know that you are trying to dodge my questions."

"What! You doubt the sincerity of my affections? Ah well, at any rate, any amount of buttering is worth seeing those lovely dimples back in your cheeks. Now, there's no use in pestering me for further news. Except one. I'm afraid I do have a tiny bit of bad news. But I shall divulge it at a latter time. This entire unsavory affair is one tricky problem and the less everyone knew about it, the better. Including you." Rhett drained his cup of coffee. "Right, now I want to hear everything that you've been doing. How is Tara? And how are all your field-hands? I take it from your cheery disposition that you have managed the impossible?"

"I've been doing very well at Tara, Rhett. There are so many things to tell but-" Scarlett straightened up. "Do you feel up for a walk? I'd rather tell you on a stroll through our backyard pines. I was longing for a stroll this morning. We've lived here for months now and we've never once ventured into the forest, except for that silly Red Indian game."

* * *

The morning light seeped in through the pine needles and formed many patterns of light and shade on the grass covered ground. They walked past the outermost wall of trees and over the knoll where the aging oaks mingled with the dark pines. Their surroundings grew silent save for the occasional swish of the bushes owing to the wind or the scampering of some harmless rabbit or squirrel. Scarlett's layers of taffeta petticoat rustled along the grass making a pleasant sound.

"I see you've found time to change your attire too-" remarked Scarlett, as she linked her arm through Rhett's. Her hand patted the front of his well-tailored waistcoat. "It's new , isn't it?"

"Dark wool. Dark waistcoats are in style now. That and these rounded bowler hats-" Rhett tilted his head and tapped the brim of his hat.

"It suits you."

"Thank you."

Scarlett took off her bonnet and sat down on the curving branches of a sagging oak tree. "Oh, its lovely here." she sighed, swinging her feet and drawing a deep breath of satisfaction. "So wild, untamed and yet so friendly. Our friendly forest at Pine grove." She smiled at Rhett who leaned upon the bark beside her, hands tucked into his pockets and his dark eyes regarding her with interest. She hummed the starting lines of a familiar tune. Then she began to sing, her face tilted to one side, a smile on her lips and her green eyes looking steadily into Rhett's.

_Let us pause in life's pleasures and count its many tears_  
_While we all sup sorrow with the poor_  
_There's a song that will linger forever in our ears_  
_ Oh hard times come again no more_

_ 'Tis the song, the sigh of the weary_  
_ Hard times, hard times, come again no more_  
_ Many days you have lingered around my cabin door_  
_ Oh hard times come again no more_


	42. Chapter 42

**Chapter 42**

"Now Rhett, I did take your advice. After you left, I went to Tara. The fields were badly burnt and Will had somehow managed to get the field-hands to co-operate and clear away the depressing trails of mud and ash. And then the inevitable argument broke out between me and Suellen. She had taken it into her head that I had exposed Tara and the entire family to ridicule in the sight of our neighbors and friends. I defended myself. But I spoke frankly to her. And we opened Pandora's box, dragging out all our ugly memories to the light." Scarlett paused thoughtfully. "Suellen is as thick-headed as ever. You should have heard her talk. She still hasn't understood the reality of everything that we've suffered, both during and after the war. The terrible poverty, the fears of hunger and the constant threat to Tara in the form of Yankee raiders or taxes. I don't think she has realized how much I've done for the family and for Tara.."

"I don't think any woman and not many men will realize anything you've done, Scarlett. Miss. Melly being the sole exception. And even if they did, I don't think they would come right out and voice their approval-"

"Yes, I know. But I never understood it until now. That's the one thing I've been missing. Understanding what is really going on in other people's heads. And that's what I finally did. We rode out in our carriage together to Fanny August's house. And she rattled on and on about different things and her opinions on them. And that's when I realized that it isn't in Suellen to understand anything practical. You should hear her talk. Good Heavens! She could confuse even you with her silly notions." Scarlett laughed at the memory but there as no malice in her voice. "But I mustn't dismiss Suellen as a complete goose. For the next day she got the black women together and she started teaching them sewing. She is really very good at teaching things. I never had much patience with teaching. But Suellen prides herself as a good seamstress. She likes sitting in that big old armchair and teaching all the little nuances of sewing. I suppose it makes her feel lady-like and important. And the next week, all her friends came to give her company." Scarlett opened out the little handkerchief that she held in her gloved hand. "She made this for me. Isn't it sweet?"

It was a plain white handkerchief with a knot of roses embroidered along the edges and a bit of home-made lace sewn neatly all along the sides.

"Suellen's silly like that. She gets easily excited and generous when a lot of women sit together and sew or embroider things. We used to do the same at Melly's house.. me, Melanie, Mrs. Elsing and India.. but I never cared much for sewing. Not unless there was a ball to go to or some handsome beau to impress." Scarlett laughed again and her green eyes sparkled. "But I suppose Suellen longs for company of this sort and this endless world of threads and patterns. Now that she has gotten her own sewing circle to meet at the house, she is blissfully happy.

Rhett had been listening cordially so far. But a sudden spark of genuine interest seemed to light up his dark eyes and he watched her keenly.

"She isn't so bad, Rhett. We _are_ sisters after all. Once I saw what was really in her head, I realized that it isn't in her to understand anything about me. If I hadn't gotten that three hundred dollars from Frank and paid the taxes, she wouldn't have such a large home to entertain her friends in. Will would have probably left and she would have married late to some undeserving Cracker like Cathleen Calvert. Some day, when she is old and gray, she might remember and be grateful though. And for some strange reason, I am quite all right with it, Rhett. We do get along quite well together and Will is grateful to me for talking Suellen into holding these sewing classes. Nearly ten to fifteen black women turned up to learn and you know how these activities strengthen the loyalty of the tenant families. It felt nice just to see it all-"

Scarlett stood up and began to walk slowly into the deeper regions of the forest. Rhett followed behind.

"It was Grandma Fontaine who gave me the idea of speaking to the field-hands about their vagrancy charges. It had been a much avoided subject until then. So, the next day, I went out to the fields with Will and spoke to Elijah, his sons and the foremen. I told them that the reason I charged high prices for the machinery, the ploughshares, the carts and horses and even the food and medicine was because I saw no other way to keep them under my control. I told them that I distrusted them because of their various debts-"

"What did they say?" asked Rhett, alertly.

"Well, at first they didn't say anything. And when I came back to the house, Elijah and a few of his sons came to my little office and they admitted that they could see things from my point of view. They too suspected Mr. Westley of playing a dirty trick with the cotton seeds and they wanted me to assure them that no harm would come to the ten men who were imprisoned during the riot night." Scarlett nodded to Rhett. "And I struck a deal. I told them that if I could get their support and pin this entire mess on Mr. Westley, then their tenant debts at Tara and the previous plantations would get considerably reduced and whoever wanted to leave for a better occupation, could leave. I wouldn't force them. But whoever stayed behind had to work hard and in due time, after a good harvest or two, I would equip them with better shacks and vegetable gardens."

"Bravo! Shrewd yet commendable business tactics, Mrs. Butler! And without your usual masterful vein. How very refreshing!"

"And I know I've complained about Elijah before, but he is not too bad either. He is very slow but has extremely well-polished manners for a house servant. He too breaks out in righteous indignation once in a while like Mammy." Scarlett giggled at this. "He went around the shacks and spoke to the other foremen and we were able to work up an agreement. Elijah wanted to buy his own mules and ploughs. So did some of the others and I agreed. The only condition I made was that their equipment must be of good quality so that farming activities will not be delayed. And ever since that day, Elijah has been most courteous and helpful. I think he and his family may stay on at Tara...permanently."

"Meanwhile" continued Scarlett. "I decided to go around and renew connections with the neighbors. Hetty Tarleton is getting married next week and we must attend her wedding, Rhett. I'm sure you will be tickled to bits. Mrs. Tarleton is awful at any kind of housework and I'm sure something will be amiss at the wedding. Some comical event - somebody will lose the ring or the arrangements will be in utter disarray. I'm expecting some kind of fiasco. I think everyone is." Scarlett's eyes danced with merriment. "I promised Mrs. Tarleton most faithfully that Suellen and I will do our best to help Hetty and I meant it too. I've been so out of touch with quality female companionship that the very prospect of helping out at a wedding seems invigorating. Oh, they are all good people, Rhett. And yes, we have had our differences but-" Scarlett sighed. "I have finally realized that I need their company. Even if it is silly company. Anyone for that matter, even Suellen. There is no need to prove anything to them. I've always tried my best to make the girls either jealous or envious of me. And I've always been envious or jealous of them. But now I realize that it is an utter waste of time. I am as mysterious to them as Ashley was to me. If you remember the way I approached things after the war. All these women were happy to waltz in their rags and patched up gowns. But I wanted new gowns. Ones that would make me look like a real lady. And I slaved hard so that none in my family would ever go hungry again. Food, clothes, shelter - they were more important to me than honor or sentiment. And no one has it in them to understand these simple things. Oh, what a prize fool I've been to try and win their approval or to take their accusations personally!" Scarlett's back was turned but Rhett could hear her soft, melodious laughter.

"I do believe that you are at long last laughing at yourself." he chuckled, softly.

"Yes I am. I'm laughing at myself for taking everyone so seriously! But I do think you, Melly, Will and even Ashley understood how much hard work I put in to bring everyone out of poverty. Ashley knew it but he only wanted to forget it out of shame at his own plight-"

"The sublime and honorable thing to do-"

"Yes, damn his honor! But Melly was always so sweet and loyal. You were right. She was all heart, wasn't she? Did you know, Rhett.. Melly didn't have much relatives when she married Ashley. She did have those Burr cousins at Macon but she always called me her sister. And when you left us at Rough and Ready, I know I didn't pull Melly along for the right reasons but she was forever grateful. I went around to apologize to her after that awful reception but she wouldn't hear one word of it. She gave me so much respect and affection and now that I think about it.. I know its too late now, but I do deserve it, Rhett. I could have easily abandoned her and little Beau along the road to Tara. But I didn't, did I?"

Rhett faintly bowed his head to this and chuckled softly once again. He seemed to be highly amused by Scarlett's words.

"I helped Melly out of pure charity and I gave Ashley a job at my mill. I don't think he would have survived on in his own.. even in New York-"

"He wouldn't have."

"Suddenly I feel so light-headed." said Scarlett, her eyes wandering over the tall pines that seemed to hem them in. "As if I haven't a care in the world. Oh, I know I've always wanted to tell the world to go to Halifax. But I've decided that I need the world. Well not too much.. but just a little bit of it. Did I tell you how much I love these dark pines, Rhett? They look so solid, so comforting.. And when we lay down on the grass and look up, we feel completely at peace-" Scarlett took a long breath of satisfaction. "Oh I feel so happy, I could sing-"

"Before you do-" called Rhett, grinning and sauntering over to her in his lithe Indian gait. His eyes were very black and blazing with some mysterious light. "Don't I get some form of thanks for your change in... ideas?"

"Oh? And what form of thanks shall you like? A handshake perhaps? Or a chaste peck on the cheek?" Scarlett's emerald eyes laughed saucily at Rhett.

"I do believe the Scarlett of old is returning. With a toss of her black hair and a haughty twist of her white nose, she looks down on all her beaus."

Scarlett started laughing and Rhett took her hands and pulled her to him. His eyes travelled to her lips and he had a queer, longing look on his swarthy, brown face. "Come now Scarlett, don't be mean. You owe me a kiss-"

"I don't think I owe you anything, Rhett Butler and I won't kiss you." Scarlett's expression grew serious. "At least not until you tell me about that "tiny bit of bad news" concerning Mr. Westley and Tara. Oh, yes I haven't forgotten about it. I think you are cruel not to tell me right away since it concerns Tara-"

Rhett gazed steadily at her. "You do realize I could steal those kisses from your lips, don't you?"

"It wouldn't be the same." shot back Scarlett, spiritedly. "And it is not what you want."

"Oh?"

"What you want .. is for the woman who stood out in the bare fields of Tara, swearing to God that she'd lie, cheat and kill if necessary to make sure that she and her family will never go hungry again.. you want that woman to kiss you.. the woman who didn't care if the whole Southern gentry were watching when she danced on such dainty feet at the Atlanta Ball, the woman who drove her buggy while pregnant to keep her mills and store running.. you want that woman to make love to you." Rhett seemed to relent a little and Scarlett pressed on, "You wouldn't want to kiss me.. not until you found out how well I could make love to you-"

Rhett smiled resignedly at this and released her from his grip. "Well, I consulted a few of my legal contacts and as much as they want to help, they think that perhaps once we lay out the charges against Mr. Westley, you might have to come to court."

Scarlett gasped at this.

"I won't let it come to that, don't worry. I'll try my best to keep you out of it. But the snag remains that you were the only one to suspect that Boy was killed by Mr. Westley. And you were also the one to send Cobbs and Cotton out into the woods when Mr. Westley's thugs tried to kill them-"

Scarlett squared her shoulders with growing defiance. "Well, we will just have to see these things together. I'm sure the news will spread all over Atlanta that I appeared in court. But I don't care. What ever reputation I lose, I'm sure I can win it back. And if any of the matrons try to sermonize on what a lady should do or shouldn't, why I'll speak the truth. I'll tell them that I never expected a riot to break out and all about Mr. Westley's underhanded dealings. I'll tell them that nothing will stand in the way of restoring Tara and that I have the complete support of the black field-hands. I'm sure they will never cut me off. I can relate to every one of their struggles after the war. We have too much in common to keep up this senseless cycle of giving and receiving offense. I'll make them see that I was right and I..I-"

Rhett laughed softly and took her face in his hands.

"Stop laughing at me!. I mean every word I say-"

"I? Laugh at you? Heaven forbid!" said Rhett, still chuckling. "I'm merely admiring your new-found ferocity. It thrills me no end to see you love yourself like this. What a remarkable change you have undergone in these last few days- You know, I do believe you will win the hearts of everyone in Atlanta. Now that you are finally out of your shell." Rhett gazed at her in genuine admiration. "But you don't have to be so brave. I won't allow things to come to that. I'll keep you safe as much as I can-"

Scarlett threw her arms around Rhett's shoulders and peered fondly into his eyes. "I know you will-" Her arms tightened around his neck and she began to kiss him. She parted his lips, kissing him as passionately and as intensely as he had kissed her, the day he made his declaration. When she drew back and opened her eyes, he leaned in expecting her to continue her kisses.

"Come now, Scarlett.. that was hardly a kiss-"

But Scarlett would not be rushed. She lingered close to him, her face inches away from his and her eyes never leaving his dark ones. "You know, I've always thought it would be such fun to have you begging me for a kiss or a smile- I thought I should let you kiss me once and then never allow any more kisses until you jump through a few hoops for me. And if you did make a declaration, I thought I should smile sweetly and say that I could only be a sister to you!."

Rhett laughed loudly and observed, "It is regrettably late, in regard to the declaration, Scarlett.. since we are already good and married for so many years. But I suppose in asking you for a kiss, I have committed the inevitable-" Rhett steeled himself and mockingly summoned a brave face. "All right Scarlett, I am game for anything. Show me those hoops. What would you have me do?"

Scarlett's face fell at his annoyingly good-humored way of tackling her jibes. "Nothing." she sighed, glumly. "Oh, stop laughing, you devil. You look so sweet, I haven't the heart to tease you any further."

"My dear, you are too kind."

Scarlett tightened her arms around his neck again. "But Rhett, we have had a hell of a good time, haven't we? Right from the very beginning.. we have enjoyed ourselves like no one else." Her face twitched faintly. "You once said that what was broken was broken and I suppose it is very true. We can't go back and change the hurts and the poisons of the past. But tomorrow is another day and we still have chances of making things the way they should be-"

"Who taught you that phrase?" asked Rhett, kindly.

"It is one of my own", replied Scarlett.

"Today, you are full of surprises. Scarlett. You've grown so much from the stubborn, bull-headed little child I knew." He pulled her closer against him. "Now, give your best sweetheart a kiss?"

Scarlett undid the top few buttons of her dress. Seeing Rhett's eyes rove across her exposed flesh, she took his lips in hers and began to kiss him again. Her lips travelled down his throat and she felt him jerking back with the faintest gasp. Realizing that he liked the sensation of her lips on his throat, she held his chin up and pressed her lips again. Again, a sharp tremor seemed to run through his hard muscles. Before Scarlett could sense what was happening, she felt fingers searching under her voluminous petticoats and tugging at the drawstrings of her pantalets. She gasped once for she hadn't bargained on so violent an attraction. And before she could swat Rhett's hands away, her undergarments had slipped around her ankles in a heap. "Oh of all the silly things to do!" cried Scarlett, more from annoyance than mortification.

Rhett shot her a sheepish look while she glanced around, wondering for the first time if they were visible to anyone watching from the house. But they were well into the woods now and the forest stretched before them, serene and calm.

She turned back to Rhett and found his eyes frowning at the sight of the undergarments.

"Scarlett, what is this?" he demanded, picking at the cut-work linen around her ankles. "Why aren't you wearing those linen knickers I bought for you in England?"

Scarlett blinked, wondering how anyone who was so passionately lost in love just moments ago could suddenly turn so impersonal and cold.

"Rhett, you know I can't wear those around Tara. The people there, my friends, Suellen's friends, the neighbors.. they are so nosey.. They'd notice the smallest things and everyone there still wears pantalets. If mine didn't show, they'd think I wasn't wearing any-"

Rhett's eyes seemed to twinkle with malice. "Madam, you do realize that it is severely disproportionate with everything else that you are wearing?"

"Well, yes. I suppose it is. " admitted Scarlett, sheepishly. "You know how country folks are." She threw him an accusatory glance. "You don't dress like a dandy when you go visiting people around the countryside-"

"No I don't." replied Rhett. "But I make sure that my attire matches with everything else that I'm wearing. You, my dear girl, are eager to parade in your chic Parisienne clothes and yet you are afraid to appear completely conspicuous. It betrays extremely poor taste and hypocrisy on your part so you get rid of your pantalets and start wearing knickers. And after you made me wait an entire half-day while you chose fine linen and silk with layers and layers of imported lace. I won't have you wasting those!."

Scarlett, smarting under this honest jibe, sourly reached down for her pantalets. Then her green eyes lighted up spiritedly. "You know Rhett, you can never really be a gentleman unless you display good old-fashioned Southern chivalry to the ladies. A gentleman always pretends to believe a lady even if he knew that she was lying. It makes life so much easier for the lady. A gentleman pays and accepts nice, polite compliments. He doesn't bore people to tears with his endless cross-examination of motives and ideas."

Rhett laughed out loud at this but he didn't make his usual arrogant repartee. Instead he began watching Scarlett with some amusement as she struggled without success to pull up her pantalets. "Scarlett, I do wish you wouldn't run off to Tara just now." he drawled, in his pleasant resonant voice. "I bought a large freshwater crawfish and some of your favorite sauces. We could have a long lunch and you could leave in the evening."

"Oh, I don't know, Rhett." mumbled Scarlett, distracted by her awkward predicament.

"And there are other things to do-" Rhett's silky voice trailed off suggestively. But its effect was lost on Scarlett who burst out in exasperation, "Great balls of fire, I can't even bend an extra inch over this maddening corset!"

"Poor darling, here, let me help you!" offered Rhett, at once. Scarlett started to offer the drawstrings to him and then held back as she spotted a gleam in the dark depths of his eyes.

"Thank you, no." she replied, stiffly.

"Yours is a capricious nature, Scarlett. At first you chide me most cruelly for not being a chivalrous gentleman and now you brush away my best efforts to be the same. This is the second courageous effort to display signs of my gentility, mind you. The first being the gallant declaration I made to you at your parlor when you were tipsy with brandy-"

"Yes, yes I remember that!" interjected Scarlett, hastily. She tried once more to hoist the material above her hips and failed. She sighed and cast a suspicious eye upon Rhett. "You know, if you really wanted to be chivalrous, you wouldn't have behaved so vilely in the first place. And what of all that talk about relishing things slowly? My goodness, just moments ago you looked piratical enough to take me right here!"

"Please Scarlett, don't laugh at me." begged Rhett, his expression suddenly quiet and somber. "In complete truth, it was never my intention to rush through so quickly. But then I've never been so aroused before. I've never seen you like this. So confident and refreshingly womanly-"

Scarlett smiled, satisfied at these humble words. Eager to encourage such manners, she continued more kindly,

"Now, you really don't think I'd let you mess up my hair with bits of grass and dirt. I took nearly two hours to curl my locks this way."

"Ah, a practical argument to thwart my ardent affections. Oh all right Scarlett, I shall be sensible." vowed Rhett, making his face into a smooth blank. "I shall restrain my passions until a better time."

"Good! Now you can-"

Rhett dropped to his knee at such a rapid pace that Scarlett took a step back startled. And that mysterious gleam was back in his eyes. He took the strings from her hands. "Now let's see here. I'm quite accomplished in lacing stays as you probably know. But these drawstrings are quite a mystery. Hold up your skirts, darling. I can hardly see what I'm doing."

Scarlett complied but she observed his efforts to "help" with wary skepticism. His fingers were already fumbling needlessly across her most intimate parts and sending the most pleasurable sensations across her body. Every "There! I've almost got it.." ended inevitably with an exaggerated oath at the knot slipping away. Scarlett squealed and tried to push him away but his sheer impudence was too amusing to be ignored. Her pulse was racing when he finally secured the knot and rose up lightly to his feet. "Rhett Butler, you are a rascal and a varmint!" she rebuked but with a provocative smile on her face. "And don't swear! It's an ugly habit and I've already told you not to do it!"

"Don't chastise me so often, Scarlett. It will take a while for me to get used to the new you-" Rhett held out his arms and she walked into them and rested her palms upon the frills of his shirt. "Scarlett, you aren't really going to rush off to your plantation and leave me in the lurch, are you?"

"Oh well, I suppose I could stay here." said Scarlett. She let her dimples creep slowly into her soft cheeks. Rhett's careless touches had caused the most agreeable stirrings to her senses that she felt alive and vibrant all of a sudden. "You did arrive just now and I could always go visiting in the evening-"

"That is very sweet of you, Mrs. Butler" grinned Rhett, enjoying the unmistakable softness in her glittering emerald eyes.

"And the prospect of eating crawfish is most tempting-" conceded Scarlett as an afterthought. He leaned his face closer and grazed his lips invitingly across her cheek. He kissed her again on her cheek yet so tantalizingly close to her lips that as he pulled back, she drew up and pressed her lips once more to his.


End file.
